Chrystia Freeland is finally exiting federal politics, resigning her seat in the House of Commons this Friday, Jan. 9, after more than 12 years as a Liberal MP and controversial cabinet minister.
In a statement released Wednesday, Freeland said she has written to the Speaker to formally vacate the seat she has held since 2013.
“It has been an immense honour to serve my constituents and all Canadians in Parliament since 2013,” she said.
Freeland stepped down from cabinet in September and announced at that time she would not seek re-election, stating she would take on new full-time professional roles outside politics beginning this summer.
“One of the roles I will be taking on is as an unpaid advisor on economic issues to the President of Ukraine,” Freeland said. “This is a volunteer position, and I have consulted throughout with the Ethics Commissioner and followed his advice.”
Her resignation follows a transition that began last fall when she left cabinet but remained an MP. Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed her as Canada’s special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
She added she plans to remain active in public life and to continue advocating for Ukraine. Freeland’s recent appointment by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as an economic advisor immediately sparked ethical concerns and outrage among Conservative MPs. The controversy centered on the sitting Canadian MP taking on a foreign role.
Freeland served in several senior cabinet positions under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, including foreign affairs minister, finance minister and deputy prime minister, before later holding the transport and internal trade portfolio.
Her tenure included major trade negotiations and pandemic-era economic measures that produced record federal deficits and a sharp rise in public debt. She was also a prominent defender of the Liberal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in 2022 during the Freedom Convoy protests.
The legality of that decision remains before the courts. In February 2025, lawyers for the Trudeau government returned to the Federal Court of Appeal to challenge a ruling that found the use of the Emergencies Act unlawful and unjustified, a case with potential implications for civil liability and future use of the legislation.
Freeland’s resignation as finance minister in December of the previous year was widely viewed as a turning point that hastened Trudeau’s departure and cleared the way for Carney’s leadership bid.
She represented the Toronto riding of University–Rosedale. Her departure will create a vacancy in the House of Commons, triggering a byelection at a date yet to be determined.
