Editing Inky Mark (section)

===Federal politics===

Mark was first elected to the House of Commons in the [[1997 Canadian federal election|federal election of 1997]], running as a candidate of the [[Reform Party of Canada|Reform Party]] in the riding of [[Dauphin—Swan River]]. From 1997 to 2000, Mark was one of only three Chinese-Canadian [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|MPs]] in the House of Commons.

The Reform Party dissolved itself in 2000 in favour of the [[Canadian Alliance]], and Mark ran as a candidate of the new party in the [[2000 Canadian federal election|federal election which followed]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/liberals-slip-gear-heading-westward/article4169384/|title=Liberals slip gear heading westward|work=The Globe and Mail|date=November 28, 2000|access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref>

On September 12, 2001, Mark left the Canadian Alliance caucus to sit as a member of the [[Democratic Representative Caucus]], in alliance with the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative Party]].

The DRC came to an end on April 10, 2002, when [[Stephen Harper]] replaced Day as Canadian Alliance leader.  Every other member of the DRC requested to be re-admitted to the Alliance; Mark did not join them, but instead decided to sit as an "Independent Conservative", with the intention of rejoining the Progressive Conservatives at their annual party convention later in the year; he had been a Progressive Conservative before the early 1990s.  Mark formally joined the Progressive Conservatives on August 27, 2002.

In December 2003, the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party formally merged to create the new [[Conservative Party of Canada]].  Mark supported the merger, and formally joined the new party's caucus on February 2, 2004. Mark was easily re-elected in the [[2004 Canadian federal election|Canadian federal election of 2004]].

In 2005, Mark alleged that Treasury Board President and Liberal MP [[Reg Alcock]] offered him an ambassadorship if he were to resign his seat. Alcock responded by saying, "Frankly, if I was going to recruit somebody, I'd go a little higher up the gene pool." Mark called this comment racist and filed a complaint with the [[Canadian Human Rights Commission]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.proudtobecanadian.ca/inky_mark_launches_human_rights_complaint_against_liberal/ | title=Inky Mark launches human rights complaint against Liberal| date=2005-05-17}}</ref> As the CHRC does not publish its investigations, it is not possible to know the outcome of this case.