Leader of the Conservative Party Pierre Poilievre speaks with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa in September, 2025.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

John Ibbitson is a media fellow at the Fraser Institute and a senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

The Liberals and Conservatives offered completely different responses to the Trump administration’s abduction of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

Those responses reflect the world view of each party. For Conservatives, foreign policy is rooted in values; for Liberals, in interests.

On Saturday morning, not long after word arrived that American special forces had captured and abducted Mr. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre issued a statement on X. “Congratulations to President Trump on successfully arresting narcoterrorist and socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, who should live out his days in prison.”

For Mr. Poilievre, the matter is personal. His wife Anaida came to Canada with her family from Venezuela when she was eight.

But his statement also conformed with decades of values-based Conservative foreign policy. As prime minister, Stephen Harper criticized China’s record on........

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