# Mark Eyking

Mark Eyking PC (born August 30, 1960) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Sydney—Victoria from 2000 to 2019 as a member of the Liberal Party.

## Early life and education

Eyking was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia. His parents, born in Beverwijk (father) and Moergestel (mother), emigrated from the Netherlands to Canada in 1952. Not being able to travel to their city of preference Vancouver due to a lack of funds, they chose to start a business in olericulture in Sydney, where Eyking was born eight years later. Eyking was educated at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, 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 nomination in the Sydney—Victoria riding for the 2000 federal election. On November 27, 2000, he defeated New Democrat incumbent Peter Mancini by over 5,000 votes to win a seat in the House of Commons. Eyking was re-elected in the 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2015 federal elections. In Paul Martin's government, he served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food with special emphasis on Agri-Food (2003–2004) and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade 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. 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 as a Liberal MLA in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2013 to 2017.

## Electoral record

vte2015 Canadian federal election: Sydney—Victoria :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Mark Eyking | 29,995 | 73.20 | +33.29 | – |
| | New Democratic | Monika Dutt | 5,351 | 13.06 | –5.97 | $32,027.50 |
| | Conservative | John Douglas Chiasson | 4,360 | 10.64 | –27.21 | $41,720.11 |
| | Green | Matthew Cavanaugh | 1,026 | 2.50 | –0.71 | – |
| | Libertarian | Wayne James Hiscock | 242 | 0.59 | – | – |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 40,974 | 100.00 | | $195,473.50 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 236 | 0.57 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,210 | 68.96 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 59,761 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | +19.63 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
vte2011 Canadian federal election: Sydney—Victoria :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Mark Eyking | 14,788 | 39.91 | -9.49 | $67,454.53 |
| | Conservative | Cecil Clarke | 14,023 | 37.85 | +17.23 | $77,334.98 |
| | New Democratic | Kathy MacLeod | 7,049 | 19.02 | -5.42 | $17,238.77 |
| | Green | Chris Milburn | 1,191 | 3.21 | -2.33 | $0.00 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 37,051 | 100.0 | | $80,666.28 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 279 | 0.75 | +0.03 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,330 | 61.48 | +4.07 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 60,719 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | -13.36 |
| Sources: |||||||
vte2008 Canadian federal election: Sydney—Victoria :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Mark Eyking | 17,303 | 49.40 | -0.48 | $60,561.52 |
| | New Democratic | Wayne McKay | 8,559 | 24.44 | -4.06 | $15,485.05 |
| | Conservative | Kristen Rudderham | 7,223 | 20.62 | +2.28 | $60,092.18 |
| | Green | Collin Harker | 1,941 | 5.54 | +2.25 | $1,966.54 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 35,026 | 100.0 | | $78,337 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 254 | 0.72 | +0.16 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,280 | 57.41 | -5.89 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 61,448 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | +1.79 |
vte2006 Canadian federal election: Sydney—Victoria :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Mark Eyking | 20,277 | 49.88 | -2.25 | $47,473.95 |
| | New Democratic | John Hugh Edwards | 11,587 | 28.50 | +0.79 | $28,987.58 |
| | Conservative | Howie MacDonald | 7,455 | 18.34 | +2.47 | $26,033.71 |
| | Green | Chris Milburn | 1,336 | 3.29 | +0.99 | $537.60 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 40,655 | 100.0 | | $73,953 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 227 | 0.56 | -0.23 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,882 | 63.30 | +2.72 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 64,589 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | -1.52 |
vte2004 Canadian federal election: Sydney—Victoria :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Liberal | Mark Eyking | 19,372 | 52.13 | +2.14 | $51,343.95 |
| | New Democratic | John Hugh Edwards | 10,298 | 27.71 | -8.50 | $24,957.69 |
| | Conservative | Howie MacDonald | 5,897 | 15.87 | +2.08 | $48,515.46 |
| | Green | Chris Milburn | 855 | 2.30 | – | $580.41 |
| | Marijuana | Cathy Thériault | 474 | 1.28 | – | none listed |
| | Independent | B. Chris Gallant | 264 | 0.71 | – | $165.54 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 37,160 | 100.0 | | $71,187 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | 297 | 0.79 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,457 | 60.58 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 61,826 |
| | Liberal notional hold | Liberal notional hold | Swing | Swing | +5.32 |
| Changes from 2000 are based on redistributed results. Conservative Party change is based on the combination of Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party totals. |||||||
vte2000 Canadian federal election: Sydney—Victoria :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Mark Eyking | 19,388 | 49.8 | +23.5 |
| | New Democratic | Peter Mancini | 14,216 | 36.5 | -14.6 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Anna Curtis-Steele | 3,779 | 9.7 | -12.9 |
| | Alliance | Rod A.M. Farrell | 1,528 | 3.9 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 38,911 | 100.0 |