Poilievre says Trump should avoid 'permanent quagmire' in Iran and focus on 'core objective'

OTTAWA — Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says if he were in U.S. President Donald Trump’s shoes, he would focus the country’s efforts on ensuring Iran never develops nuclear weapons, “without getting involved in a permanent quagmire.”

Poilievre gave his assessment of the unfolding U.S-Israel war against the Iranian regime on his latest podcast appearance.

Filmed in Los Angeles during the Conservative leader’s first trip to the U.S. last month, Poilievre sat down with Steven Bartlett, who hosts The Diary of a CEO podcast, as part of a tour to discuss the Canada-U.S. relationship. The Conservative leader also appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast on the trip.

Here are five takeaways from Poilievre’s latest podcast interview.

On Iran, Trump will have to decide which of the former Bush presidents he wants to be, Poilievre says 

When it comes to the unfolding war in Iran, Poilievre said he believes that the “initial actions” taken by the U.S. and Israel, which launched strikes against Iran in late February, were necessary to prevent the regime from developing nuclear weapons.

Poilievre told the host that his position was consistent with that of Prime Minister Mark Carney, who offered support for that initial attack. The prime minister later clarified that he took that position “with regret,” and suggested that, on the surface, it did not appear that the actions by the U.S. and Israel were consistent with international law.

Since then, Carney’s government has faced questions about what involvement Canada may play when it comes to trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iranian regime has blocked. Carney has said that discussions with NATO allies were ongoing, but that any assistance would be predicated on a ceasefire.

On Easter Sunday, Trump issued a warning for Iran to open the strait, a major shipping route for oil, by Tuesday or face attacks against its power plants and bridges.

For his part, Poilievre told the podcast that aired last Thursday, that he was not proposing to send Canadian troops into Iran.

“I think any actions to degrade their nuclear capabilities prevent them from ever achieving them, is favourable, and I hope that it will weaken the regime enough for the people to overtake it and claim control of their country,” the Conservative leader said.

Poilievre said he rejected the idea that Iran’s aggression has been triggered by the war. “They would have eventually carried it out,” he said of the regime. “The question is when and with what means, and if we had just sort of slept and waited, we would have ended up with a catastrophe.”

The host then asked Poilievre how he believed the escalating war might end. “It could go a variety of ways,” Poilievre said.

He recalled the actions taken by former U.S. president George H.W. Bush during the Gulf War, launched after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.

“He declared victory and he moved on,” Poilievre said. “His son then went and pursued a full out-and-out regime change, and that was a much longer enterprise,” he said, referring to actions taken by former president George W. Bush.

“(Trump) will have to decide which of those two Bushes he uses as a model.”

Poilievre, who says he has never spoken to nor met the president, said whether the U.S. should pull back depends on the intelligence it has about Iran’s nuclear capacity. “That is the hinge point.”

He was also asked directly what he would do if he were Trump.

“I would focus on the core objective of making sure that there’s not a nuclear armed Iran without getting involved in a permanent quagmire.”

Should Canada have nuclear weapons? 

At one point, the hosts asked Poilievre whether Canada, which does not have any nuclear weapons, ought to.

“I don’t see a need for that,” Poilievre said.

“I don’t know what we would get from it. We don’t have any desire to to threaten anyone with nuclear weapons. So I don’t see a purpose for that right now.”

Dealing with artificial intelligence

When it comes to artificial intelligence and the impact it is having on global workforces, Poilievre said his thinking around the technology is governed by a set of principles.

“The public policy objective is to ensure that it becomes an enabler of humanity, not a replacement for it,” he said.

The Conservative leader said he had “principles” that he would apply to the technology.

“How do we make sure that the AI enables and empowers people to make more decisions for themselves and have more freedom and to pursue their own meaning.”

Poilievre added: “The other thing I would say is that as these technologies bring down costs, those savings should be passed on to people.”

Canada’s immigration issues different than U.S. 

At another point in the discussion, Poilievre was asked about the political backlash in the U.S. and Europe against immigration.

He argued that unlike in the U.S., Canada’s issues with its immigration system began in recent years.

“It’s a different situation in the U.S.,” Poilievre said. “The immigration problem in the U.S. goes back many, many years, Many, many years of chaos at their the southern border. We didn’t have that in Canada.”

He then reiterated his pitch to expedite foreign credential recognition for thousands of immigrants who came to Canada as professionals but cannot work in their chosen fields.

When asked about the issue of birth rates, Poilievre told the host he sees the problem as a economic one, with Canadians in their mid-30s unable to afford homes, which delays their plans to have children.

Poilievre talks about meeting biological mother

Poilievre discussed on the podcast his experience of being adopted and raised by two parents in Calgary, along with his half-brother, Patrick, who shares the same biological mother.

The Conservative leader said he met his biological mother in his early 20s, but only after asking his adoptive mother how she felt about him doing so.

“I did not want her to feel like she was going to be left behind or forgotten about or replaced. And I asked her, you know, ‘would you be okay if I met her?’ And she said, ‘Yes, of course, because I won’t always be here, and I always want you to have a mother’,” Poilievre said.

“I thought that was a really incredible thing to do, because … such a big part of a mother’s identity is that they are the mother of that child. But to have a love that’s so much deeper than that personal identity or interest is something I’ll always remember. It’s one of the most gracious things I’ve ever seen.”

Poilievre has talked openly about being adopted. When he won the party’s leadership contest in September 2022, he gave a nod to his biological mother, Jackie, who was in the crowd. During that speech, he also acknowledged that his father was gay, giving a nod to his partner.

Poilievre said on the podcast that he and his biological mother, who put him up for adoption when she was 16, took a road trip from Ottawa to Montreal where they got to know one another and where he learned about the rest of his biological family, including his grandfather whom he would later come to know.

Poilievre also said that he has met his biological father, who works at a concrete plant in B.C.

In terms of his own children, Poilievre grew the most animated when talking about raising his daughter, Valentia, who is autistic and non-verbal.

“She’s a thrilling little girl to be around,” he said, saying his daughter loves to run and climb on his shoulders. “Enjoy the special things that they bring because they are magical,” he said of raising a child with autism.

“You can’t force them to be in your world. You have to go into their world and reach them there.”

National Post

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