MP Chrystia Freeland will step down from Canada’s Parliament and government to become an unpaid economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The longtime Liberal politician said she was taking on the new role voluntarily, marking a full departure from Canadian political life after more than a decade in elected office.
Announces departure from Parliament and government post
On 5 January, Freeland posted on X that she would step aside from her position as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine. She will also resign as a member of Parliament "in the coming weeks." Chrystia Freeland noted:
“Ukraine is at the forefront of today’s global fight for democracy, and I welcome this chance to contribute on an unpaid basis as an economic advisor to President Zelensky.”
Freeland had been appointed as Zelenskyy’s non-staff adviser on economic development. Her announcement confirmed that she was relinquishing both her parliamentary seat and her role in the Canadian government. The former minister had previously declared she would not run in the next election.
Freeland was first elected in 2013 and held multiple cabinet roles between 2015 and 2025.
Carney says resignation aligns with new role
PM Carney told reporters that Freeland’s decision was “consistent” with her appointment as an unpaid adviser to Ukraine, the Canadian Press reported. He addressed the matter on 6 January at a press conference in Paris, where he is meeting with allies including the US, to discuss Ukraine's future security guarantees.
“My judgment was that taking that role would be consistent with resigning as an MP, and I welcomed her doing that,” Carney said.
He added that he did not ask Freeland to remain in office despite the Liberal government’s minority status.
Canadian opposition MPs criticize timing of resignation
Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong and interim NDP leader Don Davies argued that she should have resigned from Parliament immediately after accepting a role with a foreign government.
Alongside her new unpaid post advising Zelenskyy, Freeland is set to become CEO of the Rhodes Trust this summer, a global educational charity based in Oxford, England.
