Imagine a bustling internet highway, and on one of its busiest lanes, there’s a podcast studio where Joe Rogan holds court. Recently, a significant figure in Canadian politics, Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party and the official opposition, stepped into this digital arena. This wasn’t just any interview; it was a first for a Canadian political leader on Rogan’s incredibly popular (and often controversial) “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. Now, Poilievre didn’t just waltz in. Apparently, his team initially advised him against it, knowing Rogan’s reputation for being a polarizing figure. But Rogan’s show is a behemoth, boasting 11 million listeners per episode and ranking as the world’s number one podcast on Spotify in 2025 – a staggering reach. Poilievre, perhaps seeing an opportunity too big to ignore, eventually changed his mind, even bringing Rogan a kettlebell engraved with a Maple Leaf as a gift. He told the media his primary goal was to appeal to the United States to lift tariffs on Canadian goods. While the success of that particular mission remains to be seen, his appearance has opened a can of worms: did his guest spot, intended to benefit Canada, inadvertently spread inaccurate or harmful information to a massive global audience, potentially pleasing his supporters but hurting Canadians overall?
This wasn’t just a casual chat; it was a dive into a specific corner of the internet that researchers call the “manosphere.” Think of it as a vast, interconnected digital landscape of videos and podcasts where “hypermasculine” ideas reign supreme, often intertwined with conspiracy theories, hate speech, and misinformation. Our research into this world has shown how influencers within it often dish out toxic content targeting marginalized groups, peddling dangerous falsehoods about health, politics, immigration, and even the environment. And guess what? The “Joe Rogan Experience” is part of this very ecosystem. So, from this unique vantage point, we decided to meticulously dissect Poilievre’s comments on Rogan’s show. We wanted to see if any of Rogan’s well-known tendencies to dabble in conspiracy theories or misinformation subtly crept into their conversation, and perhaps more importantly, how Poilievre responded to these moments. While many news outlets focused on the obvious headlines – tariffs, Canada-U.S. relations, and even their shared love for fitness – we uncovered a different pattern: instances of misinformation concerning immigration, the environmental and health impacts of Alberta’s oilsands, the contentious topic of seed oils, Canada’s safer drug supply initiatives, and even the causes of inflation.
Let’s break down some of these moments with a dose of reality. First, on immigration, Poilievre confidently claimed to Rogan that Canada welcomes a million immigrants annually. But when we look at the actual numbers from the Canadian government, it’s a different story. Targets for temporary residents (like students and those with work visas) are set at 385,000 for 2026, and permanent residents at 380,000. Combined, that’s significantly less than the figure Poilievre tossed out. Inflating immigration numbers is a well-known tactic in far-right online spaces, designed to stir up anxieties about demographic shifts. Repeating such a distortion on a global platform like Rogan’s doesn’t just legitimize it; it actively creates division and harms racialized communities. Next, on Alberta’s oilsands, Poilievre painted a surprisingly rosy picture, asserting they have “no impact to groundwater… no impact to the environment” and that people living nearby are “very healthy.” However, a 2024 report from University of British Columbia scientists paints a much grimmer picture, detailing significant environmental and health impacts from the Athabasca oilsands. At best, Poilievre was significantly downplaying the realities of oil development, sidelining scientific research and the very people most affected by it.
Then came the discussion on diet, a favorite topic of Rogan’s, specifically focusing on seed oils. Both men seemed to agree that traditional fats like beef tallow or butter are superior to foods made with seed oils. This claim, often popularized by wellness influencers, has been thoroughly debunked by the Harvard School of Public Health in numerous scientific articles. What makes this particularly ironic is that Canada is the world’s largest exporter of canola oil, a prominent seed oil. So, when Poilievre failed to challenge Rogan’s health misinformation, he inadvertently lent support to an idea that could undermine the very trade he claimed to be promoting by appearing on the podcast. Moving on to safer drug supply initiatives, Poilievre told Rogan a troubling tale: that people were acquiring opioids through Canada’s safe supply program and then selling them to children. He even alleged, “the addicts would sell those to kids so that they could buy the harder stuff off the street, and it expanded it even more.” This is a claim the Conservative Party, Poilievre himself, and conservative media have pushed for years. However, a 2024 fact-check by The Walrus magazine found no credible evidence to support these claims. Repeating such narratives on a global stage fuels a punitive approach to drug use that has demonstrably failed to reduce harm, echoing a moral panic that has even been used to justify aggressive U.S. tariff threats against Canada.
Finally, the topic of inflation arose. Poilievre unequivocally blamed the previous Liberal government’s actions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. He articulated it like this: “Like back during COVID when all these governments were printing money and all the politicians and bankers said, ‘Oh, this is great. Well, look at all this money we get to spend.’ I’d walk around communities and I’d have like mechanics say, you know, we’re going to have inflation. And I would say, yeah, it makes sense to me…. And sure enough, all that money filtered into the economy, bid up all the goods we buy, and everybody got smoked with higher prices.” Poilievre has been vocal about this perspective for some time. Yet, a fact-check by the Calgary Journal in 2025 concluded that this claim was misleading. While government spending did contribute to inflation, it was a multi-faceted issue with global factors playing a significant role, not solely attributable to the actions of the Liberal government. Attributing it so singularly oversimplifies a complex economic phenomenon.
So, does any of this really matter? If Poilievre is spreading misinformation about Canada on Rogan’s podcast, is it merely “politics as usual”? We argue unequivocally that it does matter, and profoundly so. Poilievre is vying for the highest office in the land, aspiring to be prime minister. As such, he should be aiming to lead a country in ways that genuinely benefit all Canadians – this includes canola farmers, immigrants, people struggling with drug use, and communities whose environments are burdened by oil development. His talking points on immigration and drug trafficking, among others, are not new; they are “dog whistles” – coded messages designed to resonate with far-right online audiences. Uttering these claims is not harmless; it is dangerous. Anti-immigrant misinformation, for example, fractures trust and fosters division among Canadians, causing real harm to targeted racialized populations. Similarly, making false accusations about drug-related crime or unchecked drug trafficking strengthens arguments for increased governmental surveillance and control over citizens. It also inadvertently legitimizes the false narratives cited by the U.S. in its retaliatory actions, including those contentious tariffs.
It’s tempting to view Poilievre’s actions as simply “appealing to his base.” He’s been criticized before for his associations with far-right politicians, which hasn’t gone over well with many Canadian voters who dislike the divisive tactics often seen in U.S. politics under figures like Donald Trump. Despite his past image of being less inclined towards political theatrics, Poilievre now seems determined to push claims that his core supporters will embrace, even if these claims are later scrutinized and debunked as misleading. By choosing to promote politically convenient misinformation on a massive platform like Joe Rogan’s, Poilievre runs a significant risk. He risks eroding the shared understanding Canadians have of crucial issues like public health, environmental challenges, and social cohesion – all of which are fundamental responsibilities for any political leader to address. In an era where democratic communication is already strained by a deluge of misinformation and escalating polarization, Canadians have every right to expect better, more truthful, and more unifying engagement from their political leaders, regardless of their party affiliation.