Canada-born descendant of Nazi collaborator quits posts to advise Ukraine

Chrystia Freeland has confirmed taking up an “unpaid” economic adviser role in Kiev

Chrystia Freeland has announced she will resign from her posts in Canada to become an economic advisor to Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky.

Freeland, a descendant of a Nazi collaborator and a leading figure in Canadian politics, was appointed by Zelensky on Monday. He praised Freeland as “an expert” in economy and finance.

Confirming the appointment on X, Freeland stated that her contributions to Kiev would be “voluntary” and “unpaid.” 

“I will be stepping aside from my role as the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine. In the coming weeks I will also leave my seat in Parliament,” she wrote on Monday.

One of the most prominent figures in Canadian politics for over a decade, Freeland has held ministerial positions in international trade, foreign affairs, and finance. In September, she resigned as Canada’s minister of transport to become Ottawa’s special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Freeland, however, has a controversial family history. Archival evidence and research show her maternal grandfather was editor-in-chief of a Ukrainian-language newspaper in occupied Poland and Austria that published Nazi propaganda during World War II. Freeland has long rejected knowledge of these facts, claiming they were Russian disinformation.

In 2023, Freeland was among the Canadian parliamentarians who gave a standing ovation to Yaroslav Hunka, a former member of the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, during Zelensky’s visit to Ottawa. The incident sparked widespread outrage in Canada and abroad, forcing the government to issue an official apology.

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Following Freeland’s appointment by Zelensky, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova branded Ukraine “a haven for neo-Nazis.”

Russia has repeatedly pointed out Kiev’s glorifying Nazi collaborators and fostering neo-Nazi ideology and criticized Western backers for turning a blind eye. Moscow has cited “denazification” as one of the goals of its military operation in Ukraine.