Then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland rises in the House of Commons on June 11, 2024 (Screen shot, ParlVU).
Prime Minister Mark Carney says his decision not to immediately ask Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland to resign her House of Commons seat has nothing to do with the Liberals’ minority status.
Speaking to reporters in Paris on Jan. 6, Carney rejected suggestions that political math influenced his handling of Freeland’s transition to a new role as an economic development adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“No, absolutely not,” Carney said when asked whether Freeland was allowed to remain an MP because the Liberals are short of a majority.
Carney was in Paris attending a meeting of the so-called “Coalition of Willing” to discuss terms for a potential peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
Zelenskyy announced Freeland’s appointment early on Jan. 5, with Freeland confirming later that day. She said she would step down as Carney’s special representative for Ukraine’s reconstruction and resign her House of Commons seat in the “coming weeks.”
The Liberals are currently one seat shy of a majority after two Conservative MPs crossed the floor in recent months. The departure of Freeland, along with other veteran Liberals rumoured to be in line for diplomatic postings, could temporarily widen that gap.
Carney said Freeland concluded she could better support Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts by working directly with Zelenskyy as she prepared to retire from Parliament.
“My judgment was that taking that role would be consistent with resigning as an MP, and I welcomed her doing that,” he said.
Freeland resigned from cabinet on Sept. 16, 2025, and was appointed that same day as special envoy for Ukraine. At the time, she said she would not seek re-election in her Toronto riding of University–Rosedale but did not provide a timeline for stepping down.