Coincidence? Freeland’s sudden cabinet exit comes amid damning Chinese ferry loan emails

TCE Brief

Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s former deputy prime minister and Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, has announced she is leaving cabinet and will not seek re-election. One of Kyiv’s most steadfast allies, Freeland says she is ready for “fresh challenges” as she takes up her new diplomatic role as Canada’s special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Freeland’s surprise departure from cabinet comes as a controversial $1-billion loan is facing intense scrutiny. While Freeland, in her capacity as Transport Minister, publicly expressed “dismay” and “anger” over BC Ferries’ decision to award a major shipbuilding contract to a Chinese state-owned company, newly obtained documents suggest a different story behind the scenes.

While Freeland was telling Parliament she had no authority over the matter, her senior Liberal aides were in a frantic email chain, strategizing how to manage the fallout from the very federal loan that made the deal possible.

This wasn’t an ordinary deal. A $1 billion loan from the federally-owned Canada Infrastructure Bank was essential for the purchase, with one aide admitting the project was “likely not viable” without the financing. One federal official even worried that cancelling the deal would “send a signal” to China and hinder efforts to re-establish trade ties.

Canada has loaned taxpayer money to a state-owned Chinese industry, even as China imposes significant tariffs on Canadian exports. These tariffs include a 100% duty on canola products and a 25% duty on seafood and pork. Essentially, Canadian public funds are now bankrolling a government that’s actively targeting Canadian goods.

Subsidized blackmail?

The 1 billion loan also raises questions about the strategic implications of supporting China’s unrivalled global shipbuilding capacity, which is now superior to even the United States’. This industrial might is not merely for commercial advantage; it is a critical component of Beijing’s strategy to project power. China leverages its massive shipbuilding infrastructure to bolster its navy, coast guard, and a vast fishing militia, which it deploys for aggressive territorial expansion and intimidation in the South China Sea.

Beyond military power, China is securing strategic assets globally, including ports and shipyards. This is mostly done through its Belt and Road Initiative, where Chinese state-owned enterprises invest in foreign infrastructure, raising concerns about the potential for espionage and control over global supply chains.

The procurement of these vessels from a Chinese entity by a Canadian Crown corporation effectively bolsters China’s commanding position in the global shipbuilding market. This also hurts Canada’s own shipbuilding industry, which can’t compete with China’s lower prices due to state subsidies and cheaper labor.

In fact, this public loan to a Chinese shipyard goes beyond harming Canadian jobs; it actively empowers an aggressive foreign power that has used everything from trade to hostage diplomacy to bully its way onto the world stage. Is Canada is paying to subsidize its own blackmailing by Beijing?

Rabbit hole…

There are more questions. What are the full terms of this deal, and why was it brokered with a Chinese entity rather than a domestic one, or even a NATO ally? The sudden departure of Chrystia Freeland suggests that more revelations may be on the horizon. This is an unfolding story, and the full extent of this 1 billion rabbit hole has yet to be uncovered.