diff --git a/build_tools/pytorch.py b/build_tools/pytorch.py
index 7aff2db324..9152229d2f 100644
--- a/build_tools/pytorch.py
+++ b/build_tools/pytorch.py
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ def setup_pytorch_extension(
     # Libraries
     library_dirs = []
     libraries = []
-    if os.getenv("NVTE_UB_WITH_MPI"):
+    if bool(int(os.getenv("NVTE_UB_WITH_MPI", 0))):
         assert (
             os.getenv("MPI_HOME") is not None
         ), "MPI_HOME must be set when compiling with NVTE_UB_WITH_MPI=1"