To say that Chrystia Freeland’s resignation on Wednesday—effective Friday, January 9—wasn’t as well timed and executed as her December 2024 departure as Justin Trudeau’s finance minister and deputy prime minister would be an understatement.

Previous to that, Freeland posted to her social media channels, this past Monday, that she had accepted a voluntary role as an economic advisor to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The position meant that she would step aside as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine. “In the coming weeks, I will also leave my seat in Parliament,” she added, referring to her position as member of Parliament for University—Rosedale.

That’s when the backlash began. Questions rose around conflicts of interest and advising a foreign government while sitting as an MP. “Foreign interference can happen even from allies,” noted international criminal justice law expert Mark Kersten. Conservative and New Democratic Party MPs alike added to the indignation, compelling Freeland to accelerate her stepping down as MP.

As Freeland’s unofficial biographer Catherine Tsalikis observed the fallout online, it occurred to her that Freeland’s awkward resignation had arrived almost exactly on the anniversary that Trudeau himself announced that he would step down as prime minister—a capitulation partially instigated by Freeland herself.

The Walrus spoke to Tsalikis about the botched resignation. Tsalikis, whose book Chrystia: From Peace........

© The Walrus