'Slap in the face': Freeland's Disney Plus comment made her a villain, records show

Once upon a time, Chrystia Freeland attempted to relate to Canadians' cost-of-living concerns with a personal anecdote -- and it didn't produce a fairy-tale ending.

Once upon a time, Chrystia Freeland attempted to relate to Canadians' cost-of-living concerns with a personal anecdote -- and it didn't produce a fairy-tale ending.

"I personally, as a mother and wife, look carefully at my credit card bill once a month, and last Sunday I said to the kids, 'You're older now. You don't watch Disney anymore. Let's cut that Disney Plus subscription,"' Freeland told Global News in an interview that aired on Nov. 6.

She went on to say: "I believe that I need to take exactly the same approach with the federal government's finances, because that's the money of Canadians."

Maybe Freeland meant to show that managing a $430-billion budget is not all that different from handling a household one.

But as word of the clip spread throughout the land, and was viewed nearly a million times in just a couple of days, so did outrage.

Emails sent to her office and obtained by The Canadian Press under access-to-information law show that Freeland's attempt to connect with Canadians made her a villain to thousands.

"This advice is about as wise as boomers telling younger folks if only they skipped the avocado toast then they could afford a house," said one person. The names of the senders are redacted in the documents.