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Canada's former deputy prime minister and longtime Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland, has said she will leave parliament in the coming weeks to accept a job as economic development adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to Canadian PM Mark Carey, the role is a natural step forward for Freeland, who stepped down as Carney's minister of transport and internal trade to take on the new role as Canada's special envoy to Ukraine. Shortly after, Freeland announced that she would not be running in the next election. Freeland thanked Canadians in a post on Twitter, stating, “I want to thank my constituents for their years of confidence in me. I am so grateful to have been your representative.”
It looks like 2026 will be a year of change for Freeland, after her bid for Liberal leadership failed in 2025. Longtime Liberal Freeland managed just 8% of the votes after Justin Trudeau stepped down as Prime Minister on January 6, 2025. Chrystia Freeland had high hopes for the Liberal leadership election, being the most familiar face on the ballot, but was blown out of the water by Mark Carney, who dominated the election, winning 86% of available votes. Freeland was apparently unhappy with her appointment in Carney's government, and subsequently stepped down from her role as minister of transport and internal trade to become Canada's special envoy to Ukraine.
According to anonymous sources reporting to CBC and CTV, Freeland was offered the role by Zelenskyy on December 22, and informed PM Carney of her resignation on December 24. The role will reportedly be part-time and unpaid, with Zelenskyy appointing Freeland to organize an international advisory council on Ukraine's reconstruction. In a post to X, Carney thanked Freeland for her work and described her as “uniquely qualified for this important new role,” and thanked her for her service in parliament.
Why Ukraine?
The role switch marks a significant career change for Freeland, who remains one of the most recognizable faces in the Liberal Party; but recognition hasn't led to political success for Freeland, who has seemingly hit a ceiling within the caucus. Over the last three years, Freeland has continuously failed to secure the confidence of party members or constituents. Over the last four years, Freeland has drawn the ire of Conservative social media influencers, largely due to her relationship with ex-PM Justin Trudeau, who faced catastrophic approval numbers before being forced into resignation by the Liberal caucus. n 2024, a Leger poll found that just 20% of Liberal voters would be happy with Chrystia Freeland as Prime Minister, bringing her future in Parliament into question.
Freeland attempted to distance herself from Trudeau when polls showed his approval ratings nosediving, resigning from her role as Deputy Prime Minister with a highly critical letter. Unfortunately for Freeland, Canadians saw the resignation as a desperate effort to save her political career, not a stand against longtime ally Trudeau. With Freeland facing a horde of critical constituents, turning to Ukraine makes sense, especially since Freeland is of Ukrainian descent and lived in both Ukraine and Russia during her two decades as a journalist. Now, Freeland will be working directly under Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – albeit in an unpaid position – and will be returning to her Ukrainian roots.
Throughout her decade in cabinet, Freeland served as minister of international trade, foreign affairs, intergovernmental affairs, finance, transport, internal trade, and deputy prime minister. Chrystia Freeland was first elected in 2013 and previously worked as a journalist for The Financial Times, The Globe and Mail, and Reuters.
