Carney says Freeland’s role in Ukraine is ‘consistent’ with the plan to resign as a member of Parliament – National
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ontario MP Chrystia Freeland’s impending resignation from the House of Commons is “consistent” with her taking a role as an unpaid economic development adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
But conservatives say Freeland should have resigned now and Carney should have asked him to do so when he took up the new role.
On Monday, Freeland announced his immediate resignation as Carney’s special envoy for Ukraine reconstruction and ultimately resigned as a member of Congress.
“My decision was that taking this position would be accompanied by my resignation as a Member of Parliament, and I accepted him doing that,” Carney said at a press conference on Tuesday at the Canadian Embassy in Paris.
Carney, who leads the minority government, said he did not ask him to let Freeland continue as an MP. He was in Paris meeting with Ukraine’s allies, including the US, to discuss security guarantees for the war-torn nation.
Conservative MP, Michael Barrett, said on Tuesday that Freeland may have received sensitive information while advising the foreign government at high levels.
Get the latest country news
For news that affects Canada and the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you as they happen.
“Besides that working for Canadians is not a part-time job, the position he has accepted in a foreign government, paid or unpaid, raises the question of whose interests will be put first,” he wrote on social media.
“It’s important for the Prime Minister to protect Canada’s interests and uphold high standards of ethics and integrity. And he shouldn’t wait for someone to tell him to.”
Freeland said he will not run in the next election. The outgoing MP will become CEO of the Rhodes Trust, an international charity based in Oxford, England, from 1 July.
Opposition MPs, including Conservative Foreign Affairs critic Michael Chong and interim NDP leader Don Davies, said Freeland should have resigned as an MP before taking a job with another nation’s leader.
A by-election will be called at Freeland’s University-Rosedale after he officially leaves.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
