Defence Minister Peter MacKay and wife expecting 1st child

CBC News

Posted: Sep 7, 2012 9:10 AM ET

Last Updated: Sep 7, 2012 11:46 AM ET

Defence Minister Peter MacKay, right, and Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay are going to be parents for the first time, his office has confirmed. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

Defence Minister Peter Mackay and his wife, Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay, are expecting their first child.

MacKay's office confirmed the news Friday morning, but declined further comment. A message on Afshin-Jam's Facebook page said the baby is due "around spring time."

The couple married in Mexico on Jan. 4.

In an interview that month, MacKay told the CBC's George Stroumboulopoulos that he was "really happy" but wants to keep his private life out of the spotlight.

Afshin-Jam MacKay, an Iranian-born human rights activist, pop singer and former Miss World runner-up, has not been shy of the media spotlight, however.

She has made appearances recently to talk about her book, The Tale of Two Nazanins, which recounts her efforts to save a 17-year-old woman from execution in Iran, and has spoken out against the ruling regime in her former homeland.

Stay Connected with CBC News

Big Box Advertisement

Power & Politics Ballot Box question by Rosemary Barton May. 24, 2013 4:48 PM Does Rob Ford's statement put an end to the allegations of crack use?

Top News Headlines

Toronto mayor's brother says he never dealt drugs

Toronto mayor's brother says he never dealt drugs: The brother of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has vehemently denied allegations in Saturday's Globe and Mail that he was involved in the illicit drug trade in the 1980s. more »

3 more suspects arrested in slaying of U.K. soldier: British police investigating the savage killing of an off-duty soldier in London have arrested three more suspects. more »
Hockey Canada votes to ban bodychecking in peewee hockey: Hockey Canada's board of directors voted to eliminate bodychecking from peewee-level hockey on Saturday in Charlottetown. more »
Neil Macdonald: How serious is Obama about curbing the drone surge?: In a key speech this week, the U.S. president set out a host of supposed new safeguards for America's controversial practice of remote-controlled rough justice. But as Neil Macdonald writes, the underlying rationale for drone use has not fundamentally changed. more »
Ontario man lost in Australian mountains has survival skills: The sister of an Ontario man who disappeared in Australia's Snowy Mountains nearly two weeks ago says she remains hopeful he will be found, partly because of his training as a Canadian Forces reservist. more »

Must Watch

Latest Politics News Headlines

Toronto mayor's brother says he never dealt drugs: The brother of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has vehemently denied allegations in Saturday's Globe and Mail that he was involved in the illicit drug trade in the 1980s. more »

Ethics probe comes with limits, federal watchdog says: As the federal ethics commissioner readies for a third look at Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former chief of staff Nigel Wright, Mary Dawson is reminding Canadians her office can only look so far. more »
PM's credibility at stake in growing Senate expenses crisis: With the prime minister's credibility at stake in a growing political crisis, has Stephen Harper done enough to explain his former chief of staff's $90,000 cheque to Senator Mike Duffy? Listen to CBC Radio's The House with Evan Solomon here. more »
Wallin may be forced to repay thousands in travel expenses: Pamela Wallin, the Senator from Saskatchewan, was back in the news this week, refusing to tell CBC News if she had repaid any travel expense money. more »
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denies using crack cocaine: The mayor of Canada's largest city told a packed news conference that he doesn't use crack cocaine and isn't a crack addict — and new allegations surfaced Saturday involving Ford's brothers. more »

More Headlines »

The National

The House

Harper's credibility at stake in growing Senate expenses crisis May. 25, 2013 2:21 PM This week on The House, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel and Liberal Senator James Cowan on the Senate expenses scandal. Former chief of staffs Keith Beardsley and David McLaughlin on Nigel Wright's $90,000 gift to Senator Mike Duffy. Plus, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall on his plea to abolish the Senate. All that and much more!