Pierre Poilievre says he’ll end ‘woke ideology’ — he isn’t saying what that means

OTTAWA — Pierre Poilievre is vowing to eliminate “woke ideology” from the public service, federal funding for university research and military culture.

But what does he mean by “woke,” exactly? The Conservative leader doesn’t seem keen to define the term.

When asked recently to explain what he considers “woke,” Poilievre gave a nearly two-minute answer that touched on most of his campaign talking points.

“Very simply, after a lost Liberal decade of dividing Canadians, turning people against each other and weakening our Armed Forces, we need to put Canada first,” he said, pointing to what he called the Liberals’ “woke criminal justice agenda” and “woke agenda on spending.”

Poilievre has threatened to pull back federal funding from universities over their alleged ideological slant. On March 26, when the party released its Quebec platform, he said a Conservative government would “put an end to the imposition of woke ideology in the federal civil service and in the allocation of federal funds for university research.”

The Canadian Association of University Teachers has said it’s alarmed by the suggestion of political interference in a well-established independent process for allocating federal grants through peer review.

“When you get politicians saying they’re going to come in and interfere with this on some basis of, I don’t know, ideological issues or political expediency, that’s the concern,” said Peter McInnis, the association’s president.

He said the word “woke” is now “so vague that it could mean anything. It just means things that they don’t agree with.”

McInnis said he worries about the spread of “anti-intellectualism” driven by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and warned that the trend threatens to undermine universities and colleges and discredit expert knowledge.

“You can see the concerted attacks right against a whole slew of American universities by the Trump administration,” he said. “So anything like that happening in Canada would be very destructive.”

Sharon DeSousa, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, released a statement recently outlining the union’s opposition to “pledges by both the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois this federal election to defund equity, diversity and inclusion” in the public service.

“We have already seen the widespread harm caused by Trump’s attacks on DEI initiatives, workers’ rights and public services in the U.S.,” said DeSousa.

In its platform, the Bloc says that while it “aims for greater participation of minorities in public institutions,” it will “propose abolishing equity, diversity and inclusion criteria in the federal government since they create exclusion and are unsuitable for the realities of Quebec and its regions.”

PSAC is one of the country’s largest unions, with around 240,000 members who work for the federal public service, Crown corporations and federal agencies.

DeSousa’s statement said equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives ensure the public service reflects Canada’s population through “critical programs and services” that are “designed with every individual in mind and can respond to everyone’s unique needs.”

The Conservatives did not respond when asked whether they plan to cut DEI programs in the public service.

Poilievre has often told the crowds at his rallies that, under a government led by him, Canada’s military would “be guided by a warrior culture, not a woke culture.”

The line is usually met with cheers — but he’s offered few clearcut examples of how that would happen.

“I presume that it means that he wants to eliminate the current efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Paul T. Mitchell, a professor of defence studies at the Canadian Forces College.

At a rally in Ottawa in February, Poilievre said a government led by him would bring back the navy’s old marching song, “Heart of Oak.” The navy recently stopped using the song, which dates to 1759, because it was found not to be inclusive, contains references to slavery and is British, not Canadian.

The military has been grappling with twin crises: low recruitment numbers that are having a negative effect on readiness and the lingering fallout from the Armed Forces’ 2021 sexual misconduct scandal.

A number of high-profile military leaders were removed from their jobs in 2021 after being accused of sexual misconduct.

A subsequent independent report by former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour called for sweeping changes to reform the military’s culture — changes that military leaders have said are critical to boosting recruitment.

When asked to define “woke culture” and “warrior culture” before the election campaign began, a spokesperson for the Conservatives sent a lengthy statement attributed to James Bezan, the party’s former defence critic.

“Restoring warrior culture means upholding the proud traditions of our Armed Forces, honouring those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and restoring focus on the number 1 job of the Canadian Forces: maintaining a capable fighting force to defend our country and our people from foreign threats and aggression,” Bezan said.

The statement also said the Conservatives “stand against sexual assault, sexual misconduct, racism, and discrimination in the military or anywhere else,” and pointed to numerous instances of Conservatives criticizing the Liberal government’s handling of the sexual misconduct scandal.

The statement did not directly answer questions about whether a Conservative government would follow the Trump administration’s example by ending DEI policies. Trump has sought to transgender people from joining the military and his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has been criticized for saying in the past that women should not serve in combat roles.

Mitchell said the Canadian Armed Forces has made some unpopular calls as part of its efforts to be more inclusive, including its decision to loosen the dress code in 2022 — a decision that it partially reversed in 2024.

He said in many cases, those efforts have been unpopular at “a grassroots level” because they focus on things like online training programs that are “an utter waste of time.”

But he agreed with military leaders who say it’s essential for the Armed Forces to widen its pool of recruits beyond white men, and that the military must be more inclusive to boost recruitment.

“I think that what we’re talking about are fundamental ethical attitudes about your willingness to tolerate diversity, about your willingness to tolerate women’s growing role in society, and not everybody in Canada is on board with that,” he said.

Gen. Jennie Carignan, who became the first woman to be named chief of Canada’s defence staff last year, has said her top priority is recruitment and retention.

“I don’t know what woke means,” she said when asked about Poilievre’s comments.

“What I can tell you is that for us, the ultimate goal is to build strong teams, and strong teams are built upon a foundation of trust and respect.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2025.

Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press