Chrystia Freeland to resign as MP Friday to take Ukraine role

Chrystia Freeland says she will vacate her seat in the House of Commons on Friday as she prepares to take on her new role as an unpaid economic development adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Freeland made the announcement Wednesday amid concerns raised by the opposition Conservatives and NDP, who have called on her to resign immediately upon accepting a role advising a foreign government.

“On Monday, I announced my intention to leave the House of Commons in the coming weeks,” Freeland wrote in a post on X.

“Today, I have written to the Speaker to confirm that I will vacate my seat effective this Friday, Jan. 9.”

Freeland said she consulted with the federal ethics commissioner “throughout” the process of accepting the Ukraine advisory role “and followed his advice.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney now has 180 days to call a byelection for the Toronto riding of University-Rosedale, which Freeland has represented as a Liberal MP since 2015.

Carney told reporters in Paris on Tuesday he expected to call “a few byelections” soon but did not give a hint on timing.

He said he did not ask Freeland to stay on as an MP in order to ensure the stability of his minority government, adding he believed her accepting the new role in Ukraine means she should vacate her seat.

“My judgment was that taking that role would be consistent with resigning as an MP, and I welcomed her doing that,” Carney said.

Conservative MP and ethics critic Michael Barrett said Tuesday that Freeland could be accessing sensitive information while advising a foreign government at the highest levels.

“Beyond the fact that serving Canadians is not a part-time job, the position she has accepted with a foreign government, paid or unpaid, raises the question of whose interests will be prioritized,” he wrote on social media.

“It’s essential for the Prime Minister to protect the interests of Canada and uphold the highest levels of conduct and integrity. And he shouldn’t wait for someone to tell him to.”

Other opposition MPs, including Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong and interim NDP leader Don Davies, have also said Freeland should have resigned as an MP before taking a job with another nation’s leader.

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The resignation marks the final act of Freeland’s gradual exit from Canadian politics. She was first elected to Parliament in a 2013 byelection.

She served multiple high-profile cabinet positions under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, ultimately rising to become deputy prime minister before resigning her roles in December 2024.

She was later named transport minister by Carney after running against him for the Liberal leadership last spring.

Freeland announced in September she would be leaving cabinet to serve as Carney’s special envoy to Ukraine focusing on efforts to rebuild the war-ravaged country. She also said she would not run in the next federal election.

She said Monday she would be leaving that position as well to serve as Zelenskyy’s advisor.

“Going forward I will continue to support and help build Canada in every way I can, while championing the brave fight of the people of Ukraine, a cause I have been committed to my entire life,” she wrote on Wednesday.

Freeland will become CEO of the Rhodes Trust, a global educational charity in Oxford, England, starting on July 1.

—With files from the Canadian Press