Freeland to Join Zelensky as Economic Advisor

By Staff, Agencies

Chrystia Freeland announced she will resign from her Canadian posts to serve as an economic advisor to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

Zelensky praised Freeland as “an expert” in economy and finance. Confirming the appointment on X, Freeland stated her role will be voluntary and unpaid.

She will step aside as Canada’s Special Representative for Ukraine’s Reconstruction and resign her parliamentary seat in the coming weeks.

Freeland has been a prominent figure in Canadian politics, holding ministerial positions in international trade, foreign affairs, and finance.

She resigned in September 2025 as Canada’s Minister of Transport to focus on Ukraine’s reconstruction.

Her appointment reignited controversy over her family history. Archival research indicates her maternal grandfather edited a Ukrainian-language newspaper in occupied Poland and Austria that published Nazi propaganda during World War II.

Freeland has denied prior knowledge of these facts, calling them Russian disinformation.

In 2023, Freeland joined Canadian parliamentarians in applauding Yaroslav Hunka, a former member of the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, during Zelensky’s visit to Ottawa—an act that drew international criticism.

Following her new role, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova labeled Ukraine a “haven for neo-Nazis,” citing the country’s glorification of Nazi collaborators and Western support.