Joe Rogan and Kevin O'Leary warn Canadians: 'If you don't get rid of Trudeau ... you're f***ed'

Article content

As a growing chorus of Liberal MPs are renewing calls demanding Justin Trudeau resign, Joe Rogan and Kevin O’Leary are sounding the alarm over the unpopular prime minister.

In a conversation with Shane Smith this week on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the podcast host spoke about his love for Canada, telling the Ottawa-born co-founder of Vice that he flirted with the idea of moving north of the border before becoming so disillusioned with Trudeau.

“I used to want to live in Canada … until Trudeau,” Rogan, 57, said. “I thought about living in Vancouver. I was like, ‘I could go live in Vancouver if s*** hits the fan in the United States. I always felt Canadians are amazing people. I always felt that Canada has 20% less douchebags. That was my feeling.”

Rogan has refused to bring his standup act to Canada until Trudeau is no longer prime minister, but in his conversation with Smith he said he used to talk to other comedians about how much he loved the country.

“When I used to do shows up there, we would all talk about it. I would do a gig in Toronto or Montreal and I’d say, ‘Canada is the best.’ I love it up there. I love the people. They’re friendly and hardworking. Peaceful. Smart. Educated. It was always fun. I loved it up there. I love the attitude of the place. I’ve met so many cool people in Canada,” he said.

But now, after nine years of Trudeau, Canada “scares the s*** out of me.”

“You guys are sliding into communism,” Rogan warned Smith. “Everyday, they push a little bit further. If you don’t get rid of that guy, if you don’t turn that thing around, you’re f***ed.”

Rogan’s rant generated over 380,000 views on X, with many viewers agreeing with his assessment.

“It’s worse (than) you know,” one person commented. “Our government is bloated with incompetence and apathy.”

“I give Prime Minister Justin Trudeau three weeks before his own party ousts him,” another predicted.

Earlier this summer, during a conversation with comedian Sam Morril, Rogan denounced the governing policies of Trudeau and the Liberal party as he pounced on the Online Harms Act, Bill C-63, which targets freedom of expression on the Internet. 

Sounding off on the legislation, Rogan said, “Canada has ridiculous free speech laws. They have hate speech laws. They can come down on you for a lot of things.”

In January, Rogan reacted to footage of the crowd inside Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena chanting “F*** Trudeau!”

“They’re yelling ‘F*** Trudeau’,” Rogan exclaimed.

The anti-Trudeau chants came after former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland sparred with a reporter during a pre-fight news conference and accused them of voting for the Liberals.

“Canada, get your s*** together! Come back. Come back to what you used to be,” Rogan urged.

The popular podcaster then made his endorsement for Canada’s next prime minister. “That Pierre Poilievre guy, however you say his name, he makes sense,” Rogan said.

Meanwhile, during a recent appearance on the Full Send podcast that has garnered over one million views on YouTube, Kevin O’Leary declared Trudeau “the worst prime minister the country’s ever had” and said the Liberal leader is “killing the country.”

“I don’t like that guy,” the Shark Tank star replied when co-host Kyle Forgeard asked him if he’s ever spoken to Trudeau. “Not because he’s a bad person, he’s just a horrible manager.”

O’Leary, who has been a vocal critic of Trudeau’s, then proceeded to explain — again — what makes him such a poor leader for the country.

“He’s the worst prime minister the country’s ever had, and I spend a lot of my time explaining why he’s so bad, because there’s an election coming up,” O’Leary said.

Trudeau, he continued, is in “a precarious position” after the NDP pulled its support for the Liberals.

“He’s had a great run, over nine years,” O’Leary said. “Brought the country to its knees. Unbelievably bad management. The way you should do it in a parliamentary system is, you’re the prime minister. You don’t have to run anything. What you have to do is hire good managers for the seats of finance, military, procurement, environment — these different cabinet positions. You hire them and you put these people in place and they work for you.”

O’Leary then lambasted Trudeau for picking Chrystia Freeland as Finance Minister. “He put a journalist in for finance minister with no skills whatsoever in finance, never ran a bank. I mean, why would you do that? And of course, she’s a total failure,” he said. “She disseminated (Canada). Capital is leaving Canada like crazy.”

He laughed as he imagined how she must be perceived by people in similar positions from other G7 countries, and then continued by saying that Trudeau has to go. “I can’t say enough bad stuff. I spend a lot of time saying it. I go up there and point it out to people,” he said.

But O’Leary also paid Trudeau, whose poll numbers continue to slide, a backhanded compliment.

“You got to respect the success he’s had. He’s one of the most successful prime ministers in history, staying in power that long with absolutely no executional skills is remarkable,” O’Leary sarcastically said. “What he’s going to do afterwards? Well, he won’t be running any of my businesses, I’ll tell you that. I mean, my goodness, you wouldn’t put that guy in a candy store. They’ll go bankrupt in the first 48 hours.”

mdaniell@postmedia.com