Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre gave a lengthy interview to psychologist and media personality Jordan Peterson, touching on his vision for Canada and how he plans to implement it.

Here鈥檚 what we learned from the interview, which was recorded on Dec. 21 and released Friday:

Election now

Poilievre has no qualms with a federal election taking place during a possible Liberal leadership race. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing increasing calls, including within his own caucus, to step down.

鈥淭he Canadian people are not obliged 鈥� 41 million people are not obliged to wait around while this party sorts out its s鈥攖. Like, these guys could have got rid of Trudeau a year and a half ago.鈥�

Big energy companies have been 鈥渃omplete idiots鈥� about carbon policy

Poilievre chided Canada鈥檚 energy sector for seeming to go along with Liberal policies such as on the environment.

鈥淭he Big Five oil companies in Canada have idiot lobbyists. They have brilliant workers, incredible workers, but idiot lobbyists. And they鈥檝e been trying to suck up for the last 10 years and did nothing to support the right policies in the prior years. So that鈥檚 going to have to change.鈥�

He deems his opposition to be communist

Poilievre says Trudeau has governed with 鈥渁n extremely radical ideology鈥� that is 鈥渂asically authoritarian socialism,鈥� and says the NDP would have done exactly the same if they were in power.

He also says 鈥渋t is a classic for socialists鈥� to try to disown what they鈥檝e done and change their names.

鈥淔irst they were communists, and then they became socialist, and then they became social democrats, and then they became 鈥� they stole the word liberal, and then they ruined that word. They changed their name to progressives, and then they changed their name to woke. And now they claim they don鈥檛 want to be called woke anymore,鈥� he said.

Poilievre added that his appeal to young voters is that 鈥渢hey鈥檝e learned that (government) help is the sunny side of control.鈥�

Lots of land

Poilievre argued the lack of homes in Canada is an 鈥渆ntirely political鈥� problem because the country has such a large land mass.

鈥淚t should be dirt cheap, because we have the most dirt. We just need to get the government out of the way,鈥� he said.

鈥淭here is no physical, geographic reason why Canada should struggle to supply people with great opportunities of home ownership and family formation.鈥�

He won鈥檛 moderate

Poilievre says he won鈥檛 try to shift his policies to the centre or left, saying it would only lead to bad results and is 鈥渢he mistake that conservative parties around the world have made countless times.鈥�

鈥淒oes the temptation exist to try and take on the political policies of the socialists in the short term? Sure, but it鈥檚 one that I will fiercely resist, because I know that by the fourth year of my mandate, people would be enraged, because their lives would be even worse.鈥�

He also said he would focus on problems facing Canadian families instead of on tackling issues on the global scale.

鈥淧eople are sick and tired of grandiosity,鈥� he said, rejecting 鈥渢his horrendous, utopian wokeism鈥� that serves 鈥渆gotistical personalities on top鈥� instead of 鈥渃ommon people.鈥�

No hyphens, please

鈥淲e鈥檙e not interested in the world鈥檚 ethnocultural conflicts,鈥� Poilievre said, praising multiculturalism but saying people who come to Canada need to leave their baggage back in their home countries.

鈥淢ost people come here to get away from those things. So by getting back to a common sense of values and identity, and reminding people that they are 鈥� when they get here, they are Canadian first. Canada first. Leave the hyphens; we don鈥檛 need to be a hyphenated society.鈥�

He urged Canadians to 鈥減ut aside race, this obsession with race that wokeism has reinserted.鈥�

Poilievre also echoed comments he previously made when asked about Pride events, saying he wants people to be 鈥渏udged based on their individual character and humanity, rather than by their group identity.鈥�

His plan to grow the economy

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to cut bureaucracy, cut the consultants, cut foreign aid, cut back on corporate welfare to large corporations. We鈥檙e going to use the savings to bring down the deficit and taxes and unleash the free-enterprise system,鈥� Poilievre pledged.

He plans to slash the Liberals鈥� reform of regulation for megaprojects 鈥渢o cause a massive resource boom in our country鈥� and generate enough electricity to power data centres.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to bring back a monetary discipline to bring down inflation (and) stop the money printing,鈥� he said, arguing that because Parliament does not vote on whether to print money, 鈥渢he inflation is adopted secretly.鈥�

The Bank of Canada has pushed back on claims that it is printing cash to finance the federal government. It said purchasing bonds has lowered interest rates so people could weather the COVID-19 pandemic, and this did not involve printing cash.

He lists his stars

When asked to list 鈥減eople who will be key鈥� in a Poilievre government, he noted four MPs from his front bench:

Former leader and House speaker Andrew Scheer, who can navigate 鈥減rocedural manoeuvres鈥� in Parliament.

Infrastructure critic Leslyn Lewis, whom he praised for her work in that file. She ran for party leadership against Poilievre, and has backed a petition calling on Canada to pull out of the United Nations.

鈥淣ewcomers like Jamil Jivani,鈥� a former radio host who has a direct relationship with U.S. vice-president-elect JD Vance.

Deputy leader Melissa Landsman, who is 鈥渆xtremely well liked in Toronto (and) very well known across the country.鈥�

Some sort of crackdown

Poilievre pledged 鈥渢he biggest crackdown on crime in Canadian history, a massive crackdown鈥� but was sparse on details when Peterson asked what that means, other than saying that 鈥渉abitual offenders will not get out of jail anymore.鈥�

He says Peterson is a free-speech champion

Peterson was directed by the College of Psychologists of Ontario to undergo a remedial coaching program after social-media conduct that the college deemed to be degrading, demeaning and posing a risk to the public.

Peterson has lost three attempts to appeal the 2022 ruling, saying his freedom of speech has been impeded. His tweets included referring to a nonbinary city councillor as an 鈥渁ppalling self-righteous moralizing thing鈥� and saying that 鈥渘o amount of authoritarian tolerance鈥� could make him deem one plus-size model to be beautiful.

Poilievre thanked Peterson for his 鈥渋mmense courage鈥� in standing by his convictions.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e had a spine of steel, and there are countless other people who will have the freedom to express themselves because you paid the price for them.鈥�

Stronger than yesterday

When asked how he鈥檇 changed since becoming Conservative leader in fall 2022, Poilievre said he had learned to 鈥渢ake a punch鈥� while taking on 鈥渧ested interests鈥� across Canada.

鈥淚 would say I鈥檓 tougher,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 withstood those punches and as a result, I feel stronger now.鈥�

Little pushback on policy

The Liberals and NDP reacted to the interview by denouncing that Peterson鈥檚 podcast episode had support from an Indiana-based Christian anti-abortion group that seeks to protect 鈥減re-born鈥� babies.

The Friday interview includes an ad from the group PreBorn, seeking donations. It includes the story of a woman who tried to order an abortion pill but it never arrived 鈥渂y God鈥檚 design鈥� and the group ultimately convinced her to give birth.

鈥淭he Conservatives and Jordan Peterson are coming for women鈥檚 rights,鈥� NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said in a post on X that focused on the advertisement but said nothing about the interview itself.

The Liberal party similarly posted about Poilievre going on 鈥渁 podcast sponsored by an anti-abortion group.鈥�

The interview itself, abortion did not come up.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2025.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press