What to know
- Pierre Poilievre appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience – a popular American podcast hosted by Joe Rogan.
- Aaron Pete, host of a political podcast, says long-form interviews like these should be encouraged for all politicians, regardless of partisanship.
- However, Canadians are divided on Poilievre’s appearance on the show.
Canadians have a lot to say after Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre sat down for the controversial podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, which aired Thursday afternoon.
Now Toronto asked Canadians and a host of a political podcast on whether Canadian politicians should participate in interviews with non-traditional forms of media.
Aaron Pete is a host of Nuanced, a podcast in which he interviews people from across the political spectrum to tackle issues “in a more nuanced way.” Pete says long-form interviews – regardless of political leaning – are something that has gone missing from the political landscape over the years.
“You might not agree on their policies, you might not agree with their perspective or their approach, but at least you understand where they’re coming from and who they are,” he tells Now Toronto.
Pete says having political figures participate in more long-form interviews is a sure way to reduce polarization.
“I believe the more we’re on social media, the less we’re getting clear, coherent information from our politicians.”
Whether it’s Carney on The Daily Show or Poilievre on The Joe Rogan Experience, Pete says the more Canadian politicians on more popular U.S. media, the better.“Those are opportunities for Canadians to share our perspective on what is the new global stage,” he says. “Standing in front of the United Nations is just not the same thing.”
Melissa, a Toronto resident, agrees.
“I think it’s fine if Canadian politicians want to participate in whatever media they want to participate in,” she shares with Now Toronto.
Does associating himself with Joe Rogen bode well for Poilievre?
“I have serious reservations about Canadian politicians going on U.S. podcasts particularly where the host has a history of a point of view,” Ken tells Now Toronto.
To Ken, what that point of view is is irrelevant.
“Just by going there, they are aligning themselves with an American position that probably has limited relevance in Canada and is potentially controversial and not where we need to take Canadian political culture. We’re not nearly as polarized as Americans are, and I think we’d like to keep it that way.”
Pete, even if he views Rogan’s political stance through a more nuanced lens, says he recognizes the criticism Poilievre could be subject to by affiliating himself with the podcast host.
“That’s why Pierre Poilievre has a duty,” Pete says.
“[Politicians] have a duty to cross political lines when they do these interviews.”
Poilievre had participated in long-form interviews with various Canadian news outlets – including with CBC’s Rosemary Barton, CBC’s Catherine Cullen, CTV’s Vassy Kapelos as well as other social media platforms like The Knowledge Project Podcast and Peter Mansbridge’s The Bridge.
Of all of his media appearances, Poilievre’s interview with Rogan gained particular attention because of the sheer statistics behind the show’s audience base. As of today, The Joe Rogan Experience, with 2,470 episodes, has over 14 million followers. Although the show is no longer exclusive to Spotify, it continues to hold the top spot for podcasts in Canada.
Fought for Canadian workers and Canadian interests on the world’s biggest podcast.
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) March 18, 2026
Thank you @joerogan for an amazing conversation.
Let’s get tariff-free trade.
Sign up to watch it first: https://t.co/Tf0URq6UlC pic.twitter.com/duEin02YjK
Ahmed, a first-year student at Toronto Metropolitan University, was surprised to find Poilievre’s participation on the show.
“It’s almost as if [the politicians] are trying to get our attention as much as they can, like get to the younger kids,” he tells Now Toronto.
Ahmed says that can be problematic if their intention is to spread misinformation.
“There’s nothing really we can do except keep our eyes out, you know?”
In the age of social media, statements taken out of context can quickly gain traction and go ‘viral’ like wildfire – a phenomenon Maya, a Toronto resident, is concerned about when she hears of politicians getting involved with popular media.
“I think it’s a bit of a sin,” she tells Now Toronto. “I get why politicians want to get onto these more popular platforms, but it just ends up glamorizing things in a way that’s looking for views and maybe ragebait, or trying to get a soundbite rather than what the issue is.”
In their 2 hours and 30 minute conversation, Rogan and Poilievre discussed a wide range of political topics including, but not limited to, Poilievre’s upbringing, Medical Assistance in Dying, Canada’s cost of living crisis including the price of oil, its sovereignty, as well as the Canada-U.S. trade relationship.
Such lengthy, recorded conversations not only offer the audience a more comprehensive understanding of an interview subject’s perspective but also offers an added benefit of being used as a tool of accountability down the road.
“We’re getting them on the record, understanding what they say they’re going to do,” Pete says.
“So we can use this as independent journalists or independent thinkers to see what Pierre Poilievre says, and if he does get elected into the role of Prime Minister, we can hold him accountable to what he said he was going to do versus what he followed through on.”
At the end of the day, the audience are responsible for forming their own opinions
Melissa, who is supportive of Canadian politicians appearing on diverse media platforms, says voters could also form opinions about the interviewed (in this case Poilievre) by the political leanings of the platform on which they are interviewed (in this case The Joe Rogan Experience).
However, Pete says that is exactly why the American – and also increasingly the Canadian – political landscape is becoming more and more polarized.
“It’s easy to start defining Joe Rogan as right-leaning, and Jon Stewart as left-leaning, and the mistake we make is that all of these people have complicated views,” Pete says.
“The more we can embrace that, the healthier our democratic system is because it doesn’t matter what people think when they agree with you.”
As for Poilievre’s participation in Rogan’s show, Pete says it’s up to the audience to develop an opinion about the interview.
“Everybody’s going to have an opinion on what he should have said, what he shouldn’t have said, that this is the wrong opinion, and all those things,” he says.
“That’s the space that Joe Rogan creates.”
