Chrystia Freeland wins election to Canadian parliament

Former Reuters editor Chrystia Freeland won election to the Canadian parliament on Monday, entering the House of Commons in Ottawa as a champion of the middle class and a leading economic adviser to Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau.

“We did it!” she yelled as she arrived at a victory party in a Toronto restaurant. “The results tonight in Toronto Centre and across the country show that the Liberal Party is the alternative to the Conservative Party. They show that Justin is the leader to form the next government. He has done a terrific job.”

Freeland quit as Reuters managing director and editor of consumer news in July to run in a by-election in Toronto Centre, a Liberal stronghold since 1993. She led with 49 per cent of the vote to 36 per cent for her rival, New Democrat Linda McQuaig, with about 80 per cent of polls reporting. Other candidates polled nine per cent and three per cent of the vote. She has already been named co-chair of Trudeau’s council of economic advisers. ■