Quebec Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy to leave politics in 2026

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QUEBEC — Saying she did everything in her power to juggle the whirlwind world of politics and two young children, St-Laurent Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy has announced she will not seek a new term in office in the 2026 general election.

“I don’t want to be a part-time mother,” an emotional Rizqy told reporters in announcing her decision. “I want to be in the same city every night to put them to bed. Right now this is not the case.

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“I would have liked to have been able to combine all this (politics and family). I can’t make it.”

Once perceived as a serious contender for the leadership of her party and considered a star opposition critic with the ability to skewer her Coalition Avenir Québec opponents, Rizqy said she will complete her term but after that will put politics aside for “at least” 15 years.

She noted that raising the children she and her husband, Gregory Kelley, have — Abraham is three months old and Gabriel 23 months old — was becoming more and more complicated, especially since Kelley is also a Liberal MNA for the riding of Jacques-Cartier.

She said Kelley offered to resign to allow her to keep working, an offer she declined.

Both have to do the long trip between Montreal and the provincial capital on a weekly basis, which means leaving their children at home without a parent three nights a week. That means missed parent-teacher meetings and many other events, she said.

“I know I can disappoint some people, but I don’t want to disappoint my sons,” she said.

Asked why she is choosing now to make the announcement, Rizqy said she wanted to clear the air on her future so the new leader of the party doesn’t have to wind up managing it. The Liberal leader will be picked in June.

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She said she had been thinking of leaving politics for several months, but the decision became clear when her second child was born.

She said she is leaving a life she loved, noting she is particularly proud of her efforts to get the legislature to adopt rules controlling protest movements around schools.

“I adore politics and I believe in public service, but now my decision is very clear,” Rizqy said, adding that she still marvels that a daughter of Moroccan immigrants — her mother worked as a cleaning lady on arrival in Canada — was able to get elected.

She said she doubted anything could have been done in terms of work arrangements at the legislature to ease the task of raising a family.

“I so wanted to have children, I want to raise them myself,” she said, noting every Monday was gut-wrenching because she had to board the train to Quebec City, leaving her children in Montreal.

As for her future, Rizqy noted she is on a leave of absence from a teaching position at the Université de Sherbrooke, a job she can return to when she wants. Rizqy is a tax expert.

Reaction to her decision was swift, with colleagues saying they are sorry to see such a promising politician moving on.

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Interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay said he understands it’s a family decision, which he respects.

“My first reaction was if it happens, we’ll be losing a very, very talented, passionate, dedicated colleague and MNA,” Tanguay told reporters.

“It is always a fragile balance,” added Premier François Legault, who is in Paris for the summit of francophone countries. “It is for everyone. Right now she has young children. I don’t want to discourage her, but things are no easier when they become teenagers.”

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Samuel Poulin, the CAQ MNA for the riding of Beauce-Sud, said Rizqy’s departure will be a “big loss” for politics in Quebec.

“She decided to listen to her heart and that’s what she did today,” Poulin told reporters. “She a brilliant, devoted young woman who enriched the whole legislature and will continue for the next two years.”

Deputy premier Geneviève Guilbault said with effort it is possible to manage both roles — though it is not for everyone.

“It can be done,” Guilbault said. “I had two children as a minister and I did it, but I recognize it is difficult, it entails sacrifices.”

CAQ house leader Simon Jolin-Barrette, himself a father of a young family, said Rizqy’s decision to not run again saddened him because the National Assembly needs politicians of all generations and Rizqy, who is 39, was a young one.

He said it’s a sign the institution that is the legislature needs to be modernized to allow, as is the case in the House of Commons, services such as remote voting. He said he proposed the idea as part of a package of reforms, but the opposition parties rejected it.

“Maybe we are at the stage of saying Ottawa is doing it and it works well,” Jolin-Barrette said. “A reflection needs to take place. When we lose someone like Marwah Rizqy, the whole population loses.”

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Rizqy was first elected to the National Assembly in 2018 and won a second term in 2022. She currently is the party critic for education and energy but in the past made headlines for her criticism of the way the CAQ government handled the ventilation issue in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She has spoken in public of the threats she received during her political career and has called for improved security for public officials. She made no mention of these incidents at her news conference.

pauthier@postmedia.com

X.com/philipauthier

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