Freeland resigns from cabinet after a decade as key Liberal minister for role as envoy for Ukraine
After handling multiple key cabinet files for more than a decade, longtime minister Chrystia Freeland has resigned from her post overseeing transport and internal trade in favour of a new role as an envoy to Ukraine.
Freeland (University–Rosedale, Ont.) announced on social media that she would not run for re-election in her Toronto-area riding, saying stepping down from cabinet means “turning the page on this chapter in my life.” In the Sept. 16 post, she did not say how long she would remain an MP, and hinted at a life beyond politics.
“A great strength of democracy is that no one holds political office in perpetuity. After 12 fulfilling years in public life, I know that now is the right time for me to make way for others and to seek fresh challenges for myself,” said Freeland, who was first elected in a 2013 byelection, and named to cabinet in 2015 after the Liberals swept from third-party standing to a majority government in that year’s election.
To my neighbours, colleagues, and Canadians: thank you. 🇨🇦 Chers voisins, collègues et Canadiens : merci. pic.twitter.com/H7Myf362Qy
— Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) September 16, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney (Nepean, Ont.) confirmed he asked Freeland to serve as Canada’s “Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine,” in addition to her responsibilities as an MP.
“As a former G7 minister of finance, foreign affairs, and international trade, with deep relationships and understanding of Ukraine and its economy, Chrystia is truly uniquely positioned for this timely and essential work towards a better future for Ukrainians and peace in Europe,” Carney said in a statement released after Freeland’s post.
Freeland, who has Ukrainian heritage, has long been an outspoken supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s all-out invasion of the country, and has been sanctioned by Russia.
In a brief cabinet shuffle in the afternoon, Dominic LeBlanc (Beauséjour, N.B.), minister responsible for Canada-U.S. Trade, gained Freeland’s internal trade role, while Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon (Gatineau, Que.) took the transport file.
Word of Freeland’s imminent resignation came ahead of the morning cabinet meeting on Sept. 16, but Freeland refused to speak to reporters in West Block heading both in and out of that meeting.
Thank you, Chrystia, for your dedication, many contributions to Canada, friendship, and continued partnership. pic.twitter.com/4D13x0Miqh
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) September 16, 2025
Freeland, wearing a Liberal-red pantsuit, was tight-lipped as she walked into the Sept. 16 gathering at 10 a.m., shrugging off questions about her political future. She emerged just under two hours later, still silent but shoulder-to-shoulder and smiling with Carney.
She did not answer questions as she left the West Block, saying only “it’s a great day!” as she entered her chauffeured black SUV.
Freeland announced her resignation just moments later in a social media post.
Defence Minister David McGuinty (Ottawa South, Ont.) would neither confirm Freeland’s resignation nor her new role as representative to Ukraine, saying only “continuing our strong relationship with Ukraine is very important.”
He said Canada “continues to show leadership in the region,” and “we have to remember that the threat landscape in the Ukrainian theatre of war is serious” and that Russia is not trustworthy.
“You can’t take too much of what [Russian President Vladimir Putin] is saying at face value,” he said. “Therefore, you have to be on guard.”
When asked if Freeland would be the right person for the job, McGuinty said “she’s an extraordinary person,” and “if Minister Freeland wants to serve in that capacity, I think she would do a wonderful job.”
Freeland was at one point seen as prime minister-in-waiting, serving as former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s deputy prime minister and minister of finance for key years in the Trudeau era.
Her abrupt resignation in December 2024, just moments before a key fiscal update was expected to be tabled, was seen as the final nail in the coffin of Trudeau’s tenure as she criticized her own government for engaging in “costly political gimmicks.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre (Battle River-Crowfoot, Alta.) noted this time period in commenting on Freeland’s exit from cabinet.
“Chrystia Freeland resigned as finance minister from the Liberal cabinet to avoid presenting a jaw-dropping $60-billion deficit,” he said on social media. “Now she is resigning before Prime Minister Carney introduces an even bigger one.”
Following Trudeau’s resignation, Freeland ran for party leadership, despite Carney’s undeniable popularity among Liberal Party members. Though the polls widened by a considerable margin, she was seemingly undeterred, saying “when I win, I will invite [Carney] to serve as finance minister in my government. I think we’ll make a great team.”
In the end, though, Carney netted nearly 86 per cent of votes in the leadership race, with Freeland coming in a far-off second with eight per cent.
Carney’s first cabinet shuffle in March saw Freeland receive the transport and internal trade file, which she retained during the post-election shuffle in May. Encouraging the free flow of goods and services between provinces was seen as a key buttress in the trade war with the United States, as President Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten many Canadian industries.
Her December 2024 resignation drew the attention of the newly re-elected Trump, who commented, “The Great State of Canada is stunned as the Finance Minister resigns, or was fired, from her position by Governor Justin Trudeau,” on social media.
“Her behavior was totally toxic, and not at all conducive to making deals which are good for the very unhappy citizens of Canada. She will not be missed!!!”
Freeland has historically been a thorn in Trump’s side, overseeing Canada-U.S. relations in 2018, during NAFTA renegotiation talks.
“We don’t like their representative very much,” Trump said of Freeland at the time.
Trump has described his relationship with Putin as being “very close” amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and recently hosted the Kremlin head in Alaska over the summer.
Bill Browder, head of Global Magnitsky Justice campaign, speaking at an unrelated press conference on Sept. 16, said Freeland was “one of the most effective people when it comes to standing up to Russia, and fighting for Ukraine.”
Browder, who endorsed Freeland during her Liberal leadership bid, said after Russia’s 2022 invasion, Freeland, as finance minister, was the first to pitch freezing Russia’s central bank reserves.
“A lot of other finance ministers said, ‘can we do that? Is it possible?’ And she had the legal analysis prepared, convincing allies that this was the right thing to do,” he said. “As a result, $300-billion of Russian central bank assets have been frozen.”
‘Very sad’ to see Freeland leave cabinet, says Green’s May
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, B.C.) said she was “very sad” to see Freeland leave cabinet, suggesting the controversy around the Canadian Infrastructure Bank providing a $1-billion loan to BC Ferries to purchase four ferries from a Chinese state-owned shipyard played a role in Freeland’s departure.
The Globe and Mail reported this week that Freeland, as transport minister, said the decision to purchase the ferries from China wasn’t the feds’ role. At the same time, Liberal aides were strategizing around the upcoming announcement that the Canada Infrastructure Bank had provided the loan.
“She’s done an enormous amount as deputy prime minister and finance minister, and I don’t know that there is really a point in having a special envoy to Ukraine,” May said, as such a role is already covered by the duties of the ministers of foreign affairs and defence.
“It’s very strange to me that she should be sidelined at this time,” May said, calling it a part of a “steady trend” of the removal of powerful women from Carney’s inner circle.
“You don’t see women in powerful positions circling the prime minister,” she said, though she acknowledged Carney’s effort to maintain gender parity within his cabinet.
But, May added, “the role of powerful and important roles for senior women seems to be on the downward trend.”
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree (Scarborough—Guildwood—Rouge Park, Ont.) has served in cabinet alongside Freeland since 2023. In an interview, he said Freeland was an important part of the Liberal caucus. The two were both elected in 2015 when Trudeau’s sweeping red wave formed a majority government.
“She’s someone I’ve worked with for many years, and whose work speaks for itself,” he said, adding he respects and supports her “very personal decision” to leave cabinet.
“I know she will do a phenomenal job as special representative to Ukraine.”
mglass@hilltimes.com
The Hill Times
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Sept. 16 at 4:56 p.m. to include additional comments and details from the afternoon cabinet shuffle.
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