Chrystia Freeland's grandfather edited a Nazi propaganda newspaper during World War II, claims she attempted to dismiss as 'KGB propaganda'

Influential former Canadian finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, is set to become Ottawa's special envoy for Ukraine, Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced.

Freeland, a granddaughter of a Nazi-collaborator who long denied awareness of his past, has long faced scrutiny over extensively documented evidence that her grandfather edited a Nazi propaganda newspaper during World War II, before he emigrated to Canada.

In a statement on Tuesday, Carney said that Freeland, one of the most prominent figures in Canadian politics for over a decade, who also held posts of International Trade Minister, Foreign Minister, and Transport Minister, has been offered a newly created job of Canada's Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, in addition to her responsibilities as an MP.

"Chrystia is truly uniquely positioned for this timely and essential work towards a better future for Ukrainians and peace in Europe," he said, citing her "deep relationships and understanding of Ukraine and its economy."

Carney did not provide any details of what Freeland's position would entail.

In a separate statement, Freeland did not comment on her new role, but confirmed that she was leaving the cabinet and is not planning to run in the next election.

Commenting on the announcement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova branded Freeland a "hardcore Russophobe," adding that her appointment would only exacerbate the crisis in Ukraine.

Her family's troubled legacy is well-documented. Her maternal grandfather, Michael Chomiak, edited the Krakivski Visti newspaper in Nazi-occupied Poland and Austria during WWII. The paper, according to the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum, was controlled by the Nazis and published Nazi propaganda and antisemitic material, including appeals supporting the German-approved SS "1st Galician Division," composed mostly of ethnic Ukrainians and linked to the massacre of over 100,00 Poles.

For years, Freeland rejected any claims of Chomiak's collaboration with the Nazis as "Russian disinformation," although Canadian media, including The Globe and Mail, have reported she had known for decades about her grandfather's work.

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During her tenure, Freeland also applauded a known Nazi into the Canadian parliament, later denying knowledge that the man could have had the same lineage as her grandfather.

She also clashed with US President Donald Trump, who labeled her a "terrible person" and a "nasty woman." When Freeland resigned from the cabinet of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in December, Trump celebrated the news, saying, "She will not be missed!!!!"