Chrystia Freeland selected as new Rhodes Trust CEO
The Rhodes Trust picked Chrystia Freeland as the next Warden/CEO. Freeland was Justin Trudeau's deputy Prime Minister in Canada.
Statement from the Rhodes Institute
We believe the Rhodes Trust has made a deeply misguided choice in appointing Chrystia Freeland as its next Warden and CEO. At a moment when the Trust urgently needs to re-center its mission on meritocratic excellence and intellectual independence—moving away from ideological conformity—its decision to select a high-profile partisan figure is troubling.
Although we recognize Freeland’s early work in the late-stage Soviet Union, her record as a Canadian political leader raises significant concerns. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she played a central role in shaping federal policies that many have criticized as excessively restrictive and economically damaging. Her support for the use of financial sanctions—including the freezing of bank accounts—against protest participants and their supporters set, in our view, a dangerous precedent for civil liberties. Additionally, her public endorsement of certain forms of price intervention reflects an approach to economic policy that we believe is overly interventionist. These positions, taken together, align her with an ideological direction we view as incompatible with the stewardship the Rhodes Trust requires.
Freeland’s limited support in her subsequent bid for leadership within her own party further underscores our view that she does not represent a unifying or forward-looking choice for the Trust. At a time when many former Rhodes Scholars have put forward candidates committed to academic freedom, open inquiry, and the pursuit of excellence, the Trustees have instead chosen a figure whose record suggests an affinity for centralized control.
The Rhodes Trust deserves leadership that strengthens free expression and independent scholarship. Unfortunately, this appointment does not meet that standard.