Chrystia Freeland has been one of the most vocal advocates for the defence of Ukraine following Russia's 2022 invasion. In fall 2025, the Liberal MP stepped away from her cabinet duties, with Prime Minister Mark Carney then appointing her as a special representative to the war-torn country.

As the calendar turned to 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Freeland would serve as his economic adviser — despite Freeland still sitting as the MP for Toronto's University-Rosedale riding.

On Monday's Rebel Roundup livestream, hosts Sheila Gunn Reid and David Menzies wondered how Freeland could put herself in a position that appears to be a very clear conflict of interest — and why Ukraine would want her as an economic adviser, given Canada's decline during her tenure as finance minister.

“I guess you don't have to hire the best to help with your economy when you just have money flowing in from the Western world with no strings attached,” said Sheila.

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“We get cancel your Disney Plus and go to the foodbank,” she continued, referring to tone-deaf comments from Freeland. “They get billions from us and Chrystia Freeland, while she continues to sit as an MP.”

Corruption scandals have been gaining increased attention in Ukraine, something that Sheila said will make Freeland feel like she's right at home, given her time with the scandal-plagued Trudeau Liberals.

Freeland “failed upwards,” David said, wondering how she managed to live down the failure of bankrupting a division of Reuters news. Failing upward was “par for the course” for Liberals, he added.

“How do you live it down? Justin Trudeau saw that and he was like, 'that lady should be in charge of our economy,'” replied Sheila. 

Despite her claim she will soon step down, Freeland has not yet put a date on her resignation as the Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals cling to a narrow minority government.