Who Is Chrystia Freeland? Deputy Prime Minister of Canada In Trouble Over Controversial Tweet

Who is Chrystia Freeland? A recent tweet by Chrystia Freeland, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Canada has sparked a controversy.

Talking about the Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole, Chrystia Freeland said in a tweet that Canada's public and universal health care system is one of their greatest strengths. Last year, in the midst of a pandemic, when O'Toole was asked if he would consider privatising the health care system, he agreed without hesitation. However, the video she shared as proof of his statement is believed to be a manipulated one. This has resulted in a debate.

Le système de santé public et universel du Canada est l’une de nos plus grandes forces. L’an dernier, en pleine pandémie, Erin O’Toole s’est fait demander s’il envisagerait la privatisation du système de santé. Il a répondu oui sans hésiter! pic.twitter.com/dcCwfaguLr

— Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) August 22, 2021

In response, Kate Harrison, the interviewer who asked O'Toole the question in July 2020 shared the original video. She confirmed that the video circulating on the internet is edited and excludes important context. Harrison tweeted, "there's a video circulating online of Erin O'Toole responding to a question on healthcare. As the person who asked the question, I'm disappointed to see the video was manipulated to exclude important context. Here's the full video."

👋- there's a video circulating online of Erin O'Toole responding to a question on healthcare. As the person who asked the question, I'm disappointed to see the video was manipulated to exclude important context. Here's the full video ➡️ https://t.co/JRKMpBP6Ip #cdnpoli #Elxn44

— Kate Harrison (@KatlynHarrison) August 22, 2021

Who is Chrystia Freeland? 10 things to know about the politician

1. Chrystia Freeland is a Canadian politician. She is serving as the tenth Deputy Prime Minister of Canada since 2019. Besides, she has also been the acting Finance Minister of the nation since 2020. Freeland is a member of the Liberal Party and represents the Toronto riding of University-Rosedale in the House of Commons.
2. Freeland was first appointed to the Cabinet following the election in 2015. She is the first woman to hold the finance portfolio in the country.
3. She studied Russian history and Literature at Havard University and earned a Master's degree in Slavonic studies from Oxford University.
4. Freeland started her career as a journalist, worked at different editorial positions at the Financial Times, The Globe and Mail and Reuters. She also became the managing director of the latter.
5. Freeland has authored the books Sale of the Century and Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else. Plutocrats went on to win the Lionel Gelber Prize in 2013. Further, it won the 2013 National Business Book Award for the most outstanding business related book in Canada.
6. Following a 2013 by-election, Freeland was elected to represent Toronto Centre in the House of Commons. In 2015, her government won its first mandate and she was appointed to Cabinet.
7. She began as the minister of international trade following the 2015 election. There she played an instrumental role in successfully negotiating Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union.
8. She got promoted to the post of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2017. In the 2019 election, Freeland assumed the role of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. In 2020, she was made the Finance Minister.
9. Freeland has earned the informal title "Minister of Everything" from political commentators.
10. She has emerged as one of the most influential Cabinet Ministers of Trudeau's Premiership.