Conservative Canadian leader goes viral for munching on apple while calmly batting down reporter's questions

Canadian Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre went viral this week in clip of him batting away accusations from a local journalist about him being a "populist" and using the "Trump" playbook, all while enjoying an apple.

The exchange happened between Poilievre and Times Chronicle Editor Don Urquhart as the conservative leader traveled to an orchard in Penticton, British Columbia last Wednesday.

While interviewing him, Urquhart confronted the conservative leader on people’s impressions that he’s a "populist" who plays on people’s emotions much like former President Donald Trump did in the United States.

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Canadian Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre went viral for debating a journalist while eating an apple in Canada last Wednesday. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The clip showed Poilievre coolly sidestepping such descriptions and asking the journalist who he was citing. Urquhart kept trying to label the leader without much success before moving on to other questions. 

The video of Poilievre munching on an apple while dismissing the questions acquired more than 2.5 million views on X only hours after it was shared, and generated plenty of commentary online. 

The viral moment began with Urquhart stating, "In terms of your sort of strategy currently, you’re obviously taking the populist pathway…" The conservative interrupted, "What does that mean?"

Caught off guard, the reporter laughed and replied, "Well, appealing to people’s more emotional levels, I would guess, um."

With his mouth full, Poilievre asked, "What do you mean by that? Give me an example." The reporter continued, saying, "Certainly you tap very strong ideological language quite frequently."

"Like what?" the conservative pushed back, causing Urquhart to stammer, "Uh, left wing, you know, this and that, right wing, you know – that type of ideological stuff." 

Poilievre refused to bite, replying, "I almost never talk about – I never really talk about left or right. I don’t really believe in that."

Urquhart tried another angle, saying, "A lot of people would say that you’re simply taking a page out of the Donald Trump book." The leader asked, "Like which people would say that?" 

"Well, I’m sure a great many Canadians," the reporter pushed, though Poilievre asked, "Like who?" Laughing, Urquhart admitted, "I don’t know who but…"

The politician dug in, stating, "You’re the one who asked the question, so you must know somebody."

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President Biden greets Canadian Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in March. (Fox News)

The reporter chuckled again, saying, "OK, I’m sure there’s some out there but anyway." A moment later, he brought up the Trump playbook again, about which the conservative asked, "What are you talking about? What page? What page? Can you give me the page? Give me the page? You keep saying that."

After Urquhart stammered through a line referencing "left wing" issues and "Trudeau," Poilievre declared, "I’m not sure ­– I don’t know what your question is." The reporter gave up, saying, "Forget that," and moved to another line of questions.

Conservatives on social media platform X praised the exchange. 

Scientist and conservative Dr. Eli David remarked on the clip, saying, "@PierrePoilievre's guide on how to destroy woke journalists while eating an apple."

Conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong commented, "Pierre Poilievre gives a masterclass on how to handle a left-wing journalist. And he eats an apple while he's doing it."

The X account for Young Americans for Liberty posted, "@PierrePoilievre HUMILIATES left-wing journalist, casually flips script on him while eating an apple. This is how it's done."

The account for Citizen Free Press declared, "This clip is fantastic. A pathetic excuse for a journalist tries to attack Pierre Poilievre with buzzwords he cannot define and melts in the sun under simple scrutiny of his ridiculous accusations. Poilievre munching on an apple only makes it better."

Popular conservative influencer account Cryptid Politics wrote, "Canadian politician @PierrePoilievre smacks down leftist reporter while eating an apple. #legend."

Urquhart has yet to respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.