A new book about Chrystia Freeland has just come out, after the publishing company sped up its release date by a few months, in light of the bombshell news its main character has made in recent days.
Titled, "Chrystia: From Peace River to Parliament Hill," the unauthorized biography was written by Toronto-based journalist Catherine Tsalikis and published by House of Anansi Press.
The book covers Freeland's childhood as a "Peace River kid," her time at Harvard, her Ukraine connection and two decades as a journalist, as well as her political ascent to two of the top jobs on Parliament Hill.
Based on more than 130 interviews with Freeland's relatives, friends and colleagues between 2021 and 2024, the generously flattering portrayal comes as a growing number of Liberals are looking to her as a potential leadership replacement for Justin Trudeau.
The author says she tried but ultimately did not speak with Freeland for the book, something that worked out fine, she told Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor of CTV National News Omar Sachedina in an interview.
On what she would have asked Freeland, if given the chance, Tsalikis said she "would ask if she wanted to be prime minister, but I don't think she would tell me."
Asked if she saw Freeland's departure from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet and accompanying scathing letter of resignation coming, Tsalikis said initially, she "was as flabbergasted as anybody else."
"I did not see it ending this way for her," Tsalikis said. "But then I thought about it, and I spoke with a lot of people who have known her over the course of her life… She's not someone who takes things lying down," she said. "I think when she was made this offer, she realized her position was untenable … and really there was nothing left for her to do."
"I don't think it was designed to cause the maximum drama that it did … but she's a strategic thinker, she would have known that things would probably play out this way."
According to a senior government source CTV News' Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos spoke with, after the ill-fated Zoom call in which Trudeau told Freeland he planned to move her out of finance and into a role as the government's point person on Canada-U.S. relations, the first time anyone in the senior ranks of Trudeau's office got any indication Freeland was about to resign was just two hours before she made the announcement.
This, the source said, was after Freeland even texted a senior member of Trudeau's team Sunday night reiterating things were a go.
CTV News sifted through the book and pulled out some notable anecdotes — such as her birth name being Christina and deciding in her teens to go by Chrystia, as an homage to her heritage — as well as insights about Freeland's governing style and her relationship with the prime minister.
Freeland's views on fashion and the origin of her pearls
Over the last decade, many Canadians have come to recognize Freeland's signature double-strand pearl necklace. In the book, it's revealed they were a gift she received on her wedding day.
"Her paternal grandfather, Wilbur, the son of American pioneers who had settled in the Canadian north, had originally given the necklace to her grandmother, Helen, a Scot," the book states.
The book also notes that Freeland has "two modes of dress: her work clothes and tatty loungewear," and as one anecdote notes, sometimes the two modes can overlap, such as when she's seen donning a sheath dress and running shoes.
Just as the pearl necklace has become a staple of Freeland's look, so too have her dresses, with the book noting the former deputy prime minister wore a red one on her first day in the House of Commons, entering the chamber "arms linked with Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau on her right and Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett on her left."
"But for Chrystia, time spent thinking about her appearance was time wasted," the book states, going on to quote a former staffer who said if Freeland "could just be a brain in liquid, that would be her ideal situation."
"I think she hates the fact that she has a body, and that she doubly hates that as a woman she has to look a certain way," her former executive assistant Ben Bergen said.
On her governing style, energy and work ethic
There are repeated references throughout the biography's pages to Freeland's seemingly boundless energy and doggedness, and how that played into her approach to her myriad cabinet portfolios over the last eight years.
Using, as an example, an anecdote about Freeland securing access to half a bottle of bourbon while on a sleeper car in Europe because she asked in Ukrainian, the author writes that "it serves as a vivid demonstration of something that has become obvious to both colleagues and political observers over nearly a decade: in the Trudeau government, some things just would not happen without Chrystia Freeland."
Former cabinet colleague Maryam Monsef is quoted as saying that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Freeland and then-procurement minister Anita Anand "were the duo that got shit done."
The high-profile politician, per the pages of this book, is also more of a night owl than an early riser, and was described by British journalist and novelist James Meek as always "switched on, socially."
And, as a child, according to her sister, Freeland didn't play much, and had an "adult temperament and proclivities."
While the depiction of Freeland within the more than 300 pages is largely glowing and complementary, Tsalikis said she did speak to some detractors, and picked up on a few examples where Freeland may have caused friction at work.
"When she's frustrated with someone and she thinks they're not worth her time, you know it. Which I think caused a bit of resentment," she told Sachedina.
"In her departments, for example, when she was at the foreign affairs department, she was known to be not receptive to the civil servants who work there, who have worked there for years and have a lot of expertise to offer. She would prefer to go to, you know, to different sources who she thought would get her the answers that she needed, so there was a little bit of friction there."
The author, though, went on to add that she thinks Freeland's perception as "a little bit aloof, a little bit condescending," doesn't fit with what those she spoke with told her about the politicians' personality.
"Which is that she's warm, she cares about people, she has a sense of humour… I'm not sure that that translates to all Canadians, so that would be something that she would have to overcome, for sure, if she does decide in the future to go for the top job," Tsalikis said.
How the Trudeau-Freeland dynamic changed over the years
As Tsalikis' book reveals, "the seeds of Chrystia's journey from journalism to politics were planted in 2011" when she met Katie Telford — Trudeau's former campaign adviser and longtime chief of staff — at the Banff Forum.
From there, whether through kismet or professional connections, the book doesn't say either way, but the author outlines how the prime minister and his top deputy met: from a chance invitation to the launch party for Freeland's second book, at the suggestion of her father.
"Trudeau and Chrystia, similar in age and both parents to young children, got along right off the bat," the book states. "But despite having a good chat, Chrystia didn't really think she'd see Trudeau again."
More than a year later, once Trudeau had clinched the Liberal party leadership, he approached Freeland about running in an upcoming byelection to replace former interim Liberal leader, and current Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae.
Notably, she decided not to run, the book recounts, until Trudeau offered to speak with her children, who were against the move. The gesture, according to a Toronto Life profile cited in the book, gave Freeland the impression Trudeau "is a really good guy."
Amid the news this week of what would be Freeland's demotion — before she very publicly quit — and renewed criticisms of the prime minister for unseating another woman, the book notably also states: "Those who know Chrystia say it's unlikely she would suffer a 'fake feminist.'"
The working relationship between the two of them intensified after the 2019 election when Freeland became deputy prime minister, and as the book states, she started meeting with Trudeau every week to go over agenda items.
"At first, their interactions were a bit awkward," Tsalikis writes. "Conversation could be stilted, with neither quite sure where to start."
"The staff who accompanied Trudeau — a self-proclaimed introvert — and Chrystia to these weekly 'bilats,' as they referred to them, felt almost as if they were parents bringing two teenagers on a date, prompting them to ask each other about their weekends to get the discussion going."
The book later goes on to paint a picture of Freeland's seeming deep respect and loyalty for Trudeau, and the prime minister's recognition of her essential role in his government, with one official stating: "Trudeau's foreign policy [was] actually mostly Chrystia Freeland's foreign policy."
Asked what else she may have gleaned about the Trudeau-Freeland dynamic, Tsalikis said she didn't come away with the impression that they were "best friends," but "I think there was a genuine rapport between the two, and it had to have stung on Friday when she received this phone call from him, or the Zoom call I should say."
"I think part of what has made her such a successful cabinet minister … is this relationship with the prime minister… It's based on two things: her loyalty to the prime minister and the way she has been able to deliver for him, particularly in times of crisis," she told Sachedina. "So I assumed yes that that relationship would kind of work itself out through the traditional tensions that are seen between the finance minister and the prime minister, but obviously not… She is loyal, but not to a fault, apparently."
Cooking for dignitaries and her coffee order of choice
The book states Freeland has hosted "government officials, foreign dignitaries, and big-name intellectuals for meals that she cooks herself" at her home in Toronto's Summerhill neighbourhood.
Her kitchen table is also described as the hub for her work life when she's in town, dating back to her time in opposition, while the description of her three children doing their homework, "practising their musical instruments and chatting in Ukrainian in the background" is mentioned multiple times.
As for her diet, according to her former assistant, Freeland was fond of the soup in the Parliament Hill cafeteria and "she's the kind of person who would eat a pork cabbage roll that was made by her aunt, rather than a Big Mac. Not that she's some sort of nut about it, but she eats real food — like, she would eat butter over margarine."
When it comes to caffeine, meanwhile, cappuccinos are reportedly Freeland's drink of choice.
On her potential leadership aspirations
The book coming out now — months ahead of schedule amid significant cabinet turmoil — is likely to have many readers flipping to the final chapters to see what the author has gleaned about Freeland's potential Liberal leadership aspirations.
And, while the book does not conclude with any absolutes, Freeland is framed as Trudeau's "most obvious successor," in what would be "another historic first," as the Liberal party has never been led by a woman.
A more noteworthy excerpt, now with the hindsight of what's transpired in the last week, was this passage:
"If Chrystia has any such ambitions, she is keeping them close to the vest, taking care to shut down any hint of leadership speculation, even among friends and family. This reservedness is not at all surprising, given the importance Chrystia places on loyalty. Her sister Natalka calls it one of her 'institutional strengths,' noting that she doesn't think 'it would even occur to her to try to push her agenda over Justin Trudeau's.'"
Beyond this, the book games out a few potential scenarios where there could be a path for her to pursue the party's top job, but none remotely considered a scenario like what's occurred in the last week, one in which Trudeau told her he was essentially demoting her. The book does, however, claim it would be hard to picture Freeland happy in the role of Official Opposition leader.
"Only time will tell where Chrystia will land next, but these are interesting questions for a woman who has accomplished so much and is, by all indications, not ready to stop," the book reads.
It concludes with stating "what Chrystia does next is anyone's guess, but there's little doubt that it will be something worth watching."
The final line in the book is a quote from the late Brian Mulroney.
"We're dealing with a woman of substance here," Mulroney said. "She's going to be a big player, no matter what."
With files from CTV News' Sydney Wray
