Canadian Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland is leaving the government. She could become special envoy for Ukraine reconstruction

Canadaʼs Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland is leaving the government and has announced her intention to leave federal politics. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says he has asked her to become Canadaʼs special representative for reconstruction in Ukraine.

CBC News writes about this.

"The great strength of democracy is that no one holds political office forever. After 12 eventful years in public life, I understand that now is the time to make way for others and find new challenges for myself," Freeland commented on her decision to leave the government and added that she does not plan to run in the next federal election.

CBC News writes that the official has long been one of the most vocal critics of Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine. And according to Reuters, Freeland, who is of Ukrainian descent and speaks Ukrainian, played an important role in shaping Canadaʼs tough stance on Russia, including putting it on the sanctions list in 2014.

She has repeatedly angered Trump, who has called her "toxic".

• Freeland has become a prominent figure in Canadian politics since the Liberals came to power in 2015, serving as deputy to then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She has held key government positions, including becoming the first woman to serve as finance minister in 2020.
• Freeland resigned as finance minister in December 2024. At the time, she said that in the past few weeks she and Trudeau had “diffused our views on the best path for Canada” — which is why the prime minister did not want to see her in the position.
• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reported his resignation on January 6, 2025. Chrystia Freeland subsequently joined the election race to replace him as Prime Minister, but lost to Mark Carney.

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