Long-time government minister Chrystia Freeland has confirmed she has stepped down from cabinet as of today.
The transport and internal trade minister said she will also step down from the House of Commons at the next federal election.
In the meantime, she will serve as Canada’s special envoy for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Freeland is partly of Ukrainian origin and speaks the country’s language fluently.
In a statement posted to social media today, Freeland, who previously served as finance minister, deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, said: “With tremendous gratitude and a little sadness, I have decided to step down from Cabinet today and turn the page on this chapter in my life.”
She added: “I would like to thank Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Trudeau for the privilege of serving in their cabinets over the past decade.”
To my neighbours, colleagues, and Canadians: thank you. 🇨🇦 Chers voisins, collègues et Canadiens : merci. pic.twitter.com/H7Myf362Qy
— Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) September 16, 2025
Freeland said “a great strength of democracy is that no one holds political office in perpetuity” and explained she was now seeking “fresh challenges.”
“I am not leaving to spend more time with my family or because the burden of elected office is too heavy to bear,” she said, emphasizing that “public service has been a privilege and not a sacrifice.”
Freeland highlighted in her statement some of the “big things” she did with Trudeau and Carney, including negotiating the successor treaty to NAFTA, helping Canada “through a pandemic” and “maintaining Canada's essential Triple-A credit rating.”
She also pointed to Canada’s aid to Ukraine and the building of the Trans Mountain Expansion.
Freeland, who worked as a journalist for liberal British newspaper The Financial Times before entering politics, was first elected as an MP in Toronto in 2013.
Thank you, Chrystia, for your dedication, many contributions to Canada, friendship, and continued partnership. pic.twitter.com/4D13x0Miqh
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) September 16, 2025
She went on to win four more elections in the city.
But when she put her hat into the ring to lead the Liberal Party earlier this year, she came a distant second to Carney.
Nonetheless, Freeland had positive words for the prime minister, hailing him as “a unifier in a time of crisis.” She added that she has “absolute confidence” in Carney.
She had less to say about Trudeau, however, who, according to Freeland, tried to remove her as finance minister in December last year, precipitating her resignation from cabinet. That resignation ultimately combined with other events to bring down the Trudeau government.
Carney, her erstwhile rival for the leadership, said Freeland had given “extraordinary service” and hailed her “versatility, raw intelligence and principled leadership.”
Chrystia Freeland resigned as Finance Minister from the Liberal cabinet to avoid presenting a jaw-dropping $60 billion deficit.
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) September 16, 2025
Now she is resigning before Prime Minister Carney introduces an even bigger one.
He went on: “Her leadership has helped to secure historic trade negotiations, to guide the response to a global pandemic, to complete early learning and child care agreements across Canada, and most recently, to remove all federal barriers to internal trade – all while strongly representing her constituents as the Member of Parliament for University-Rosedale.”
The prime minister said Freeland's responsibilities will be divided between two other ministers, with Canada-US Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc taking on internal trade and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Steve MacKinnon taking on transport.
NowMedia has asked Dan Albas, Freeland’s opposite number in the Conservative Party, for comment.
Albas and his party have been pressing Freeland in recent weeks over Ottawa’s role in the BC Ferries scandal, in which the company was loaned $1 billion by a federal government bank to buy ships from the People’s Republic of China.
