Chrystia Freeland to step down as MP on Friday

Former Liberal cabinet minister Chrystia Freeland says she'll step down as a member of Parliament Friday, marking the end of an era for the party.

The high-profile MP accepted on Monday what's being described as a voluntary role advising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and indicated she would be leaving Canadian politics in the "coming weeks."

"I have written to the Speaker to confirm that I will vacate my seat effective this Friday," she wrote on social media just two days later.

"Going forward I will continue to support and help build Canada in every way I can, while championing the brave fight of the people of Ukraine, a cause I have been committed to my entire life."

Freeland, who has Ukrainian ancestry, was deputy prime minister between 2019 and 2024 and the country's first woman to serve as finance minister. She has long been one of Canada's most vocal opponents of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The onetime Liberal leader hopeful has represented the downtown Toronto seat of University-Rosedale since 2015. It was carved out of a riding she first won in 2013.

The Conservatives have been urging Freeland to resign immediately.

"It is deeply concerning that Chrystia Freeland has accepted a job advising a foreign government, to act in their interest, while continuing to sit as a member of Canadian Parliament collecting an MP salary," wrote the party's ethics critic Michael Barrett on social media Tuesday. 

"Beyond the fact that serving Canadians is not a part-time job, the position she has accepted with a foreign government, paid or unpaid, raises the question of whose interests will be prioritized."

Public office holders in Canada are barred from a number of activities under the Conflict of Interest Act, including engaging in outside employment and paid consulting. It does not include specific language about advising a foreign government.

In her post Wednesday, Freeland said she consulted with the federal ethics commissioner and followed his advice.

A source close to Freeland said the initial plan was for her to resign her seat and then take up the Zelenskyy adviser position, but the Ukrainians moved up the announcement.

The source previously said Zelenskyy asked Freeland to take on the role during a visit to the country on Dec. 22 and she approached Prime Minister Mark Carney about it on Dec. 24.

Carney had previously appointed her as Canada's new special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine, a role she said she is also giving up.