Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland will vacate her seat in Parliament on Friday, January 9, confirming the end of her 13-year career as a member of the House of Commons.
Freeland announced the specific resignation date on Wednesday in a social media post, two days after saying she would leave Parliament “in the coming weeks” to take an unpaid advisory role with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Today, I have written to the Speaker to confirm that I will vacate my seat effective this Friday, January 9,” Freeland wrote.
The departure will trigger a byelection in Toronto’s University-Rosedale riding. Freeland has represented the constituency since first winning the election in 2013.
Freeland said she consulted the federal ethics commissioner about taking the Ukraine advisory position and followed the commissioner’s guidance. She described the role as a volunteer position focused on economic issues.
“One of the roles I will be taking on is as an unpaid advisor on economic issues to the President of Ukraine,” Freeland wrote. “This is a volunteer position, and I have consulted throughout with the Ethics Commissioner and followed his advice.”
Read: Freeland To Resign From Parliament “In Coming Weeks” After Zelenskyy Appointment
Her resignation comes after she announced in September 2025 that she would leave cabinet and not seek re-election. At the time, Prime Minister Mark Carney named her Canada’s special representative for Ukraine reconstruction.
Freeland will assume leadership of the Rhodes Trust in Oxford, England, on July 1, 2026, serving as CEO of the educational charity that administers the Rhodes Scholarship program.
“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,” she wrote.
Freeland served as deputy prime minister and finance minister under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before resigning from cabinet on Dec. 16, 2024, in a letter that criticized Trudeau’s leadership. Her departure helped trigger a political crisis that led to Trudeau’s resignation and Carney’s subsequent election as Liberal leader.
Her exit will leave Carney’s minority government two seats short of a majority in the House of Commons.
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