‘I’m Only Aware of Two,’ Poilievre Says on Number of Genders

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre speaks with reporters during a news conference, on Jan. 9, 2025 in Ottawa. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he believes there are only two genders, after being pushed for a response to U.S. President Donald Trump signing an executive order recognizing there are only two sexes.

Poilievre was questioned during a recent interview with CP24 and was asked if he would follow the lead of the new U.S. president with a similar gender policy.

“The way they’re seeing it, there’s only two [genders],” the interviewer said.

“I’m only aware of two, but if you come up with another list, then you’re welcome to do that,” Poilievre responded during the Jan. 22 interview. “But I’m aware of two. And, as far as I’m concerned, we should have a government that just minds its own damn business and leaves people alone to make their own personal decisions.”

Trump signed an executive order after his Jan. 20 inauguration to declare that the U.S. recognizes two sexes, male and female, which are “not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”

The executive order also said the government would enforce “all sex-protective laws to promote this reality,” and warned those who deny the “biological reality” of two genders against trying to use legal means to allow men to identify as women to gain access to single-sex spaces like women’s domestic abuse shelters and workplace showers.

“Efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being,” says the order.

Trump has also signed executive orders ending all federal programs and preferences based on race, sex, gender, or other immutable characteristics, and rescinding all prior U.S. Department of Education guidance documents on gender ideology.

Poilievre first waded into the issue of gender ideology in early 2024, when he criticized the use of puberty blockers for Canadians under the age of 18. The Tory leader called for the government to “protect children and let them make adult decisions when they become adults.”

Poilievre was responding at the time to a reporter’s question on Alberta’s medical transition policies for children, which stated gender reassignment surgeries would not be permitted for those aged 17 and under and that those 15 and under would not be permitted to take puberty blockers or hormone therapies. Additionally, the policies mandated that schools secure parental consent for students aged 15 and younger prior to addressing them by alternative pronouns or names.

When asked whether he would support policies requiring parental permission for their children to be taught about gender, sexuality, and sexual orientation, he said it was “a decision for the provinces” to make. He also said schools should stick to teaching the basics and leave conversations on LGBT and gender issues to parents.