Ukraine’s Zelenskiy appoints Canadian ex-deputy PM as economic adviser

KYIV, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he had appointed Canada’s former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland as his economic development adviser, citing her experience in attracting investment.

“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,” Zelenskiy wrote on X.

Freeland, who has Ukrainian ancestry, served as Canada’s deputy prime minister between 2019 and 2024 and was a leading international advocate for sending aid to Kyiv.

She is still a lawmaker in the national parliament but said she would step down in the coming weeks. She also said she would quit her role as Ottawa’s special envoy to Ukraine, a post she only took up last September.

“Ukraine is at the forefront of today’s global fight for democracy, and I welcome this chance to contribute on an unpaid basis as an economic advisor,” she said in a statement on X.

Her departure as a legislator means Prime Minister Mark Carney must call a special election to replace her.

Although the ruling Liberals are currently one seat short of a majority in the House of Commons elected chamber, they survived a key confidence vote in November with the aid of opposition parties.

Polls indicate the Liberals, who won an election last April, would most likely retain power if another vote were held now.

(Reporting by Max Hunder and Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv and David Ljunggren in OttawaEditing by Gareth Jones and Lincoln Feast.)