Reuters journalist Freeland leaving to make political run

Chrystia Freeland, the digital editor at Reuters, is leaving the wire service to run for election in Toronto, reports Daniel Leblanc of The Globe and Mail.

Leblanc writes, “Ms. Freeland has written extensively about the growing income disparities around the world and would bring expertise on the plight of the modern middle class. That theme has been at the heart of Justin Trudeau’s message since he took over the Liberal Party in April, in part with Ms. Freeland’s behind-the-scenes input.

“‘In my writing, my reporting and my thinking, I have come to feel that there is a really great challenge that the world and Canada faces, which is figuring out how to make the 21st century work for the middle class,’ she said in an interview. ‘I want to try to be a part of a team that does something about that, and that is 100 per cent the core of my motivation.’

“Ms. Freeland, 44, grew up in Peace River, Alta., and earned degrees in Russian history and literature at Harvard before doing a Masters at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar.

“Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Freeland recently met for breakfast in Ottawa and he invited her to consider a foray into active politics. The pair had been discussing policy issues in the preceding months, but Mr. Rae’s resignation from the Liberal caucus hastened Ms. Freeland’s thinking about her own political future.”

Read more here.

Prior to joining Thomson Reuters, Freeland held a wide range of roles with the Financial Times – most recently as U.S. managing editor where she led the editorial development of the newspaper’s U.S. print and online edition. Before that, she was editor of FT.com and Weekend FT, UK news editor, Moscow bureau chief and Eastern Europe correspondent.  She also worked for The Globe & Mail, where she was deputy editor, The Washington Post and The Economist.