Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre used an interview on Jordan Peterson’s podcast to talk up members of his caucus he thinks are likely to play key roles in a potential government.
In his second appearance on the Jordan Peterson Podcast, Poilievre talked with the world-renowned psychologist about the Trudeau government’s failures, how to solve the problems Canada currently faces, and what a Poilievre government might look like.
Drawing on the comparison of President-elect Donald Trump and the coterie of personalities he is including in his cabinet, Peterson asked Poilievre who his team will be comprised of and what their strengths are.
Poilievre responded by singing the praises of veteran MP Andrew Scheer for the job he did as the Conservatives’ former party leader and as the speaker of the House during the Harper government.
“We’ve got Andrew Scheer who was the party leader a few years ago. He actually did a good job as party leader and learned a lot in the process,” said Poilievre.
“He knows the rules of the game. A lot of the stuff that gets done or doesn’t get done is the result of procedural maneuvers. So you need someone who understands procedure, and he understands it better than anyone.”
Poilievre also praised newer MPs like Leslyn Lewis, Melissa Lantsman, and Jamil Jivani as future contributors to a Poilievre government.
“One of my former leadership rivals, Dr. Leslyn Lewis, is our shadow minister of infrastructure and she’s doing a great job in talking about how we can rebuild the infrastructure of the country. We’ve got newcomers like Jamil Jivani who was recently elected in an overwhelming mandate in Durham. And Melissa Lantsman our deputy leader, extremely well liked in Toronto, very well-known across the country.”
As a federal election draws closer and Canadians are focused on Canada-U.S. relations with the arrival of a second Trump presidency, Canadians are paying close attention to the team that will be working to negotiate with Trump on Canada’s behalf.
The media has speculated that Durham MP Jivani may play a role in negotiations with the United States, as Jivani and Vice President-elect JD Vance are close friends and were recently photographed alongside the United Kingdom’s Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch.
The duo talked about the faltering state of the Canadian economy and Poilievre’s vision to restore Canada to a position of economic competitiveness with the United States.
Poilievre lamented Canada’s falling rates of business investment and productivity per worker and emphasised the connection between the affordability crisis and the productivity crisis.
“For every hour an American worker works on average he or she produces 80 dollars of GDP. In Canada it’s 50,” said Poilievre.
“Now that might sound like a bunch of wonk-speak that might seem it only matters to someone staring at a spreadsheet or a graph or a chart, but in fact that’s reflected in the fact that our two million people are lined up at food banks because they can’t afford food and 80% of youth can’t afford homes.”
They talked about how inflation is a predatory form of taxation that punishes those who are inclined to save their money and those who are at the bottom of the economic hierarchy.
“Inflation is the single most immoral tax for so many reasons. For one it takes from savers and from people trying to be responsible, thus making it impossible to be responsible,” said Poilievre.
“The second reason it’s immoral is it takes from the poor, because the poorest people do not have the ability to buy inflation-proof assets like gold, and real estate, and fancy watches, and art collections…so it’s a very big wealth transfer from the poor and the working class to the very very wealthy.
“The final reason it’s so immoral is that nobody votes on it. The basic principle of our parliamentary system is that government can’t tax when Parliament has not voted.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic was nearing its conclusion, Canadians suffered from record inflation that peaked at 8.1% in July 2022.
Public opinion polls show that the rising cost of living is the primary concern for voters as Canada enters an election year.
To solve Canada’s inflation problem, Poilievre suggests slashing government bureaucracy and cutting the budget deficit so that the government can cease printing more money.
Poilievre and Peterson also talked about growing Canadian industries, including investing in Canada’s energy sector and technology sector.
Poilievre demanded to know why Canada is not working to export its natural gas to Europe and Asia where substantive profits could be reaped and advocated for an unleashing of the energy sector.
Poilievre also talked about working with the tech industry to make Canada a leader in artificial intelligence by building necessary AI infrastructure and providing data centres with the energy they need to operate.
“We have about 250 data centres in Canada. We can do a hell of a lot more,” said Poilievre.
“Our secret sauce is our energy, our incredible supply of energy of all kinds – hydro, nuclear, natural gas, you name it. So let’s unleash the production of these resources and bring our money home.”
Poilievre’s comments come in stark contrast to comments Prime Minister Trudeau made in which he said that there is no business case for exporting natural gas to Germany, a comment that Peterson called “perhaps the single stupidest thing I’ve ever heard a politician say.”
When asked what a Conservative government would do on day one, Polievre repeated his signature promise of repealing the carbon tax, as well as his promise to cut the GST on newly built homes. Poilievre also said that he would initiate the largest crackdown on crime in Canadian history.
