Mark Eyking (born August 30, 1960) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician who served as the Member of Parliament for the riding of

Sydney—Victoria Sydney—Victoria was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2025. It was created in 1996 from parts of Cape Breton—The Sydneys, Ca ...

from 2000 to 2019 as a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Early life and education

Eyking was born in

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

. His parents, born in

Beverwijk Beverwijk () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The town is located about northwest of Amsterdam in the Randstad metropolitan area, north of the North Sea Canal very close to the North Sea coast. A ...

(father) and

Moergestel Moergestel () is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Oisterwijk, about 7 km East of Tilburg. History The village was first mentioned in 1147 as Gestele, and means "guest house". Moer (moo ...

(mother), emigrated from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

to Canada in 1952. Not being able to travel to their city of preference

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

due to a lack of funds, they chose to start a business in

olericulture Olericulture (from ) is the science of vegetable growing, dealing with the culture of non-woody (herbaceous) plants for food. Olericulture is the production of plants for use of the edible parts. Vegetable crops can be classified into nine major ...

in Sydney, where Eyking was born eight years later. Eyking was educated at the

Nova Scotia Agricultural College Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) was a publicly owned Canadian university college (founded 14 February 1905 and administered within the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture) located at Bible Hill, Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Agricultur ...

, where he obtained his Agriculture Business Diploma. Now a resident of Millville, Nova Scotia, Eyking is a farmer by career.

Political career

On October 29, 2000, Eyking won the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

nomination in the

riding for the 2000 federal election. On November 27, 2000, he defeated New Democrat incumbent

Peter Mancini Dominic Peter Mancini (born August 1, 1956) is a Canadian politician and lawyer. Mancini was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1997 federal election that saw a breakthrough for the New Democratic Party in the province of Nova Sco ...

by over 5,000 votes to win a seat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. Eyking was re-elected in the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, and 2015 federal elections. In

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

's government, he served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food The minister of agriculture and agri-food () is a minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada, who is responsible for overseeing several organizations including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Canadian Dairy Commission, Farm Credit C ...

with special emphasis on Agri-Food (2003–2004) and Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of International Trade The Minister of International Trade () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for the federal government's international trade portfolio. Along with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, it is ...

with special emphasis on Emerging Markets (2004–2006). He served as the chair of the Standing Committee on International Trade during the

42nd Canadian Parliament The 42nd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 3, 2015, to September 11, 2019, with the membership of its lower chamber, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2015 federal election held on Octob ...

. Eyking announced on February 13, 2019 that he wouldn't run for re-election in 2019.

Personal life

His wife Pam represented the riding of

Victoria-The Lakes Victoria—The Lakes is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Its Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) since the 2017 election has been Keith Bain of the Progress ...

as a Liberal MLA in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

from 2013 to 2017.

Electoral record

References

External links

Official site
*
Liberal Party of Canada bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eyking, Mark 1960 births Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Sydney, Nova Scotia Canadian people of Dutch descent Farmers from Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Agricultural College alumni 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada