Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has named Canada’s former finance minister Chrystia Freeland as an adviser on economic development, a move he says will help strengthen the “internal resilience” of the war-torn nation.
“Chrystia is highly skilled in these matters and has extensive experience in attracting investment and implementing economic transformations,” he wrote on social media. “Right now, Ukraine needs to strengthen its internal resilience – both for the sake of Ukraine’s recovery if diplomacy delivers results as swiftly as possible, and to reinforce our defence if, because of delays by our partners, it takes longer to bring this war to an end.”
The move comes amid a major government shake-up in Kyiv, as Zelenskyy replaces several key figures. The Ukrainian president appointed the popular head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, as his new chief of staff last week, after Andriy Yermak, formerly his closest confidant, was forced to resign in late November. On Monday, Vasyl Maliuk, the powerful head of the SBU security service, resigned under pressure from Zelenskyy, meaning a change of leadership in all three of Ukraine’s intelligence services.
Zelenskyy has also appointed a number of new advisers, including Freeland, who speaks Ukrainian and has deep ancestral ties to the country. Freeland has long advocated for Ukraine to realize its economic potential, which she said has gone unrealized in part because of its historic ties to Russia.
Her appointment to the new role comes as western leaders, including Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, convene in Paris to discuss ways to end the four-year war, which began when Russia invaded in February 2022.
“Our country has two paths. The first path is peaceful, diplomatic, and it is a priority for us today. We want to end the war. At some point, if Russia blocks it and the partners do not force Russia to stop the war, there will be another path – to defend ourselves,” Zelenskyy told reporters on Saturday. “And at this point, fresh forces will be needed. I will go through a parallel reboot of all structures – just in case.”
Freeland, a former journalist, previously served in prominent cabinet roles under prime minister Justin Trudeau, including as both finance minister and deputy prime minister. But she also publicly sparred with Trudeau on economic matters, resigning from the cabinet in December 2024 – a decision that led to Trudeau’s eventual resignation.
Freeland became minister of transport and internal trade minister under Carney but resigned in September after he named her Canada’s special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine – a newly created role for which he said she was “truly uniquely positioned”, given her “deep relationships and understanding of Ukraine”.
As a young exchange student activist in Ukraine, Freeland’s pro-democracy work caught the attention of the KGB attention, which gave her the code name “Frida” and both surveilled her and targeted the young activist with smear campaigns.
“Though I was eventually forced to leave the country, I have no regrets about my time in Ukraine during the Soviet period,” Freeland said in a statement. “Out of this experience, what struck me, very powerfully, was how quickly a rotten political system could collapse, and how important the work of brave dissidents could be.”
During the 1990s, she worked in Russia for the Financial Times, and authored a book about the post-communist privatisation of Russian industry. Later, Freeland was a frequent visitor to Ukraine, where for many years she was the main host of an annual discussion forum run by oligarch Victor Pinchuk, which drew political figures from across the world.
Freeland, who is still a sitting member of parliament representing an electoral district in Toronto, was also named CEO of the Rhodes Trust, the Oxford, England-based educational charity that grants the Rhodes scholarship, and will take up the role on 1 July. She will not run for re-election in Canada.
