Pierre Poilievre says fake refugees are straining Canada’s economy

Canadian opposition leader and former Prime Minister candidate Pierre Poilievre criticized “fake refugees” on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast on Thursday.

At one point, Poilievre appeared poised to become the next prime minister and lead the Conservatives into a majority government after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to resign. But Liberal Mark Carney won in a turnaround fueled in part by President Donald Trump’s threats of annexation and tariffs on America’s close ally and northern neighbor.

Since then, Poilievre has kept his political ambitions alive, appearing poised for another bid for Canada’s highest office and working to encourage Americans to eliminate tariffs on Canadian goods. Rogan spoke with Poilievre about the various policy changes he would implement to help ordinary people in his country if elected into office.

While we’re talking about issues like lowering inflation and bureaucracy, the rise of “fake refugees” is an issue for Canadians coming from outsiders and benefiting from their generosity.

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“We pay a lot of money to fake, fake refugees, people who come and don’t come; they’re not actually running from danger,” he said. “Just as I love real refugees, my wife was a refugee, but I don’t have time for people who are pretending to be people who aren’t.”

When Rogan asked for clarification on what it meant to act as a refugee, Poilievre summarized: “They’re not actually in danger in their own country. So they start declaring themselves as students, and then they declare refugee status and want to stay.”

While the politician said he has a certain degree of sympathy for the outcome, the focus needs to be on putting Canadians first.

“They just want a better life, so I don’t begrudge them as people, but we can’t spend money on improved social services, advanced programs that we as Canadians don’t get for people who don’t pay,” he said.

“If they are not genuine refugees, they should not be brought in as refugees,” he added, calling for distinctions to be made between people who are truly in danger in their own country and those who are merely trying to take advantage of the system.

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Pierre Poilievre noted that he sympathizes with legitimate refugees like his wife, but there are many people who benefit from the system. (David Kawai/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The politician confirmed to Rogan that this problem is on such a large scale that it is affecting the Canadian economy.

“It’s a challenge right now because we have a lot of international students and a lot of temporary foreign workers coming in,” he said. “Over the course of like two or three years. We were bringing in about a million people a year, which in American terms would be 10 million, just like if you’re doing per capita.”

He added that this has caused a massive housing shortage, to the point where 26 students can live in one basement.

When asked how this could be resolved, he said: “We should encourage them to return legally when their work permits and visitor visas expire.”

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Canadian Pierre Poilievre noted that Canada has accepted a huge amount of people in recent years, even the American equivalent could take in 10 million a year. (REUTERS/Amber Bracken)

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“True, but don’t you want to do it ICE style?” he asked.

“No, no, I don’t think we need to do this,” Poilievre said. “I just think we need to be orderly and legal about it.”

When Rogan asked if Canadians agreed, the politician conceded: “We’re a nation of immigrants, but we’re also a nation of laws, and there’s a general consensus that, as in Canada, population growth has been very rapid for about four or five years. And that’s what we’re trying to figure out now.”