Poilievre Highlights Canada’s ‘Ancient English Liberties’ During Visit to Magna Carta Site

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 3, 2026. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre visited the site where the Magna Carta was sealed during his trip to the United Kingdom, saying the 1215 charter is foundational to Canada’s current democratic traditions and laws.

“A reflection of our ancient English liberties into our present-day ideals,” Poilievre said in a video posted to social media on March 4 showing his visit to the Magna Carta Memorial in Runnymede west of London.

The Magna Carta was sealed in 1215 by King John of England to make peace between the king and a group of rebel barons who wanted him to confirm the Charter of Liberties written by Henry I of England in 1100. The document sought to transfer more power from the king to the barons, and outlined promises such as the protection of church rights, protection from illegal imprisonment, and access to justice.

Visitors look at one of the earliest original manuscripts of the Magna Carta at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York in a file photo. Mario Tama/Getty Images

At the outset of the video, Poilievre read an inscription from the Magna Carta that said no free man should be imprisoned or stripped of his rights or possessions, “nor will we proceed with force against him or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.”

“800 years later, we still look back at this document—signed in this place—as a turning point in the history of freedom and the rule of law,” Poilievre said.

The Conservative leader said that many of the more than 60 clauses contained in the Magna Carta had been replaced, and “some of them are a little hard to understand,” such as all “fish-weirs” needing to be removed from the River Thames.

“But if you squint hard, you can peer through the Old English and ancient disputes and see the familiar and cherished rights that we take for granted today,” Poilievre said.

The Tory leader said this includes not being arrested without charge, not having a trial without jury, and “my favourite—one the Americans think they invented, but started right here in these fields—no taxation without representation.”

Poilievre also said the document prohibiting any royal official from taking firewood, carts, or horses without the consent of the owner is “one of the earliest examples of what we now call property rights.”

He also noted that Canada’s House of Commons is coloured green to represent the green fields of England where the Anglo-Saxon assembly met to advise the king.

Poilievre said Canada’s constitution “inherits its DNA” from the Magna Carta, with the Supreme Court even recognizing “this important evolution” when it said Canada’s democratic traditions could be traced back to the document.

“What started here by the muddy banks of the Thames is now our duty to continue an ocean away,” Poilievre said.

Poilievre has been on a week-long trip to the U.K. and Germany—his first trip overseas as party leader. Poilievre met with several British MPs and members of the U.K. business community and gave a speech in London where he promoted a closer alliance between the Commonwealth nations of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom (CANZUK).

Poilievre is also travelling to Berlin, Germany, this week to give a keynote speech on the transatlantic relationship and meet with German officials and business leaders.