A Quebec provincial politics power couple is pregnant with their second baby.
Marwah Rizqy and Greg Kelley are both Liberal MNAs representing ridings on the island of Montreal.
Many thought Rizqy could run to be the next leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, as she has adeptly navigated some hot dossiers as a critic for the official Opposition.
With baby number two on the way, however, that’s out of the question for now.
“We’re very happy and thrilled,” Rizqy told Global News in an interview as she sat next to Kelley. “We wanted to wait for the three-month period to pass to make sure that we do have a baby coming.”
The Saint-Laurent Liberal MNA says she’s 14 weeks pregnant with the couple’s second child, and that they felt ready to share the news as of Dec. 27, 2023.
“On the 27th my dad has been hosting a ball hockey party for 50 years now,” said Kelley, whose father is longtime Liberal MNA Geoff Kelly. “We were able to share the good news with friends and family on that day and throughout the holiday season.”
Their firstborn Gabriel is just over a year old now. There was abundant swooning across all political parties when they first brought baby Gabe to the national assembly in December 2022. They’re hoping their colleagues will be just as welcoming with the new addition to their family.
“Everyone at the national assembly has really been open to helping us as much as possible. There’s definitely a lot of people who enjoy taking care of Gabe, and I’m sure they’ll be very happy to take care of baby number two when the baby arrives,” Kelley said.
Just as she did leading up to her first pregnancy, the 38-year-old Rizqy underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.
“Of course, you’re a little bit worried. Will the IVF work? Will we be successful? That doesn’t become any less stressful,” Kelley said.
“Everyone out there going through the IVF treatments, I wish them all the best and I hope it’s going to work for them too,” Rizqy said.
The Liberal Party has been without a permanent leader since November 2022, and few have shown interest in taking the helm of the struggling party.
Rizqy’s strong performance as education critic for the official Opposition had many clamouring for her to throw her hat in the ring.
“A lot of people are happy that I’m pregnant but a lot of them are also disappointed because they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re not going to run then?'” she said.
She had already excluded herself from the race in September, but now it’s even clearer why.
“I just want to put my family first, and I’m not getting any younger. So this is the time for me if I want to have a family,” Rizqy explained. “Maybe one day I will run, but not this time.“
She says the schedule of a regular MNA is a packed one already, and adding on a leadership campaign would be way too much.
“Going through the entire Quebec to do the race is impossible with a toddler and a newborn,” she said.
The couple is encouraging anyone trying IVF to stick with it.
It took them multiple tries before they were successful.
“You have to keep having hope,” Rizqy said.
She recounted meeting a teacher in the waiting room at the MUHC.
“The day that I knew I was having another baby, she was going through her fourth treatment, but she was so courageous, so optimistic about the future,” said Rizqy, wishing success to all people going through IVF.
Kelley encouraged people to reach out to the pair if they want to share their experiences or ask questions.