Monte Solberg

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Image:MSolberg.jpgMonte Kenton Solberg PC (born September 17, 1958 in Calgary, Alberta) is a Canadian Member of Parliament, representing the riding of Medicine Hat in the Canadian House of Commons as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. He is the current Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. He has also served as Critic for Foreign Affairs, National Revenue, and Human Resources Development.

A former broadcaster and businessman, Solberg was elected as a Reform Party Member of Parliament (MP) in 1993 and 1997, and as a Canadian Alliance MP in 2000. Solberg is the fiscal architect behind Stephen Harper's plan to massively overhaul Canada's fiscal regime, which under the stewardship of Prime Minister Paul Martin, has enjoyed an unprecedented eight year run of budget surpluses.

In 2001, Solberg was one of 13 MPs who were suspended from the Canadian Alliance caucus for criticizing the leadership of Stockwell Day. He sat as an Independent Alliance MP for the summer, but rejoined the Alliance caucus before the Democratic Representative Caucus was formed. He was also one of four Alliance MPs who agreed to sit with the Progressive Conservative caucus after the December 9, 2003 creation of the merged Conservative Party, as the Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parliamentary caucuses were not officially merged until a few weeks later. He was re-elected as a Conservative MP in the 2004 election.

Solberg kept a high-profile blog, and in 2005, is thought to have made history when he blogged from the floor of the House of Commons immediately upon the passage of Bill C-38, which provided legal recognition of same-sex marriage. Solberg was opposed to the bill. In 2006, Solberg won his Medicine Hat riding with 79.7% of the vote. He suspended updating his blog after being appointed Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

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