VICTORIA -- Victoria Member of Parliament Laurel Collins is expecting her first child this spring.
The first-term NDP MP announced the pending arrival on her Twitter account Tuesday.
Collins and her partner James McNish are expecting the baby to arrive at the end of April.
Collins told CFAX 1070 on Tuesday that she plans to continue working as MP while her partner takes parental leave from work at the provincial government.
“I want to continue representing the people of Victoria,” Collins said.
“I’ll continue to take part in virtual parliament – voting, debating bills & in committee online from Victoria,” she tweeted.
With the possibility of a spring federal election, the Victoria MP could find herself on the campaign trail while nine months pregnant or with a newborn in tow.
“There are a ton of rumours out there,” Collins said of the likelihood of an election in the months to come. “We’ve been hearing a lot of talk about the Liberals potentially forcing a spring election.”
Whenever the next election is called, Collins said she will be running. The Victoria MP is expected to be nominated as a candidate in the next election during a virtual meeting of the Victoria Federal NDP Electoral District Association on Saturday.
Collins said she admires leaders like New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who gave birth in 2018 and became the first world leader to bring a newborn baby to a United Nations General Assembly meeting.
“There’s no reason why women who are starting a family should be barred from these challenging & meaningful roles,” she tweeted.
Collins was elected MP in October 2019 after serving one year on Victoria city council.
