Monte Solberg

The Honourable Monte Solberg PC
Member of Parliament forMedicine Hat
In office October 25, 1993 – October 14, 2008
Preceded by	Bob Porter
Succeeded by	LaVar Payne
Personal details
Born	Monte Kenton Solberg (1958-09-17)September 17, 1958 Calgary,Alberta,Canada
Political party	Conservative(2003–present)
Other political affiliations	Reform(1993–2000) Canadian Alliance(2000–2003)
Spouse	Deb Solberg
Children	Matt Solberg, Michael Solberg
Residence	Brooks, Alberta
Profession	Broadcaster, Businessman
Portfolio	Minister of Human Resources and Social Development

Monte Kenton Solberg,PC(born September 17, 1958) is aCanadianbusinessman and politician. Solberg is a formerMember of Parliament,representing the riding ofMedicine Hatin theHouse of Commons of Canadaas a member of theConservative Party of Canada.He was the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and later served as theMinister of Human Resources and Social Development.He has also served as Critic forForeign Affairs,National Revenue,andHuman Resources Development.

Solberg is now a Principal at New West Public Affairs, a Canadian national public affairs firm based in western Canada, and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta.

Solberg was the owner of the right-wing news aggregate website, News Hub Nation, from which he frequently blogged about current events and features exclusive content from conservative personalities.

Early life

Solberg was born inCalgary,Alberta.A former broadcaster and businessman, Solberg is ofNorwegianancestry.

Political career

He was elected as aReform PartyMember of Parliament(MP) in 1993 and 1997, and as aCanadian AllianceMP in 2000. In 2001, Solberg was one of 13 MPs who were suspended from the Canadian Alliance caucus for criticizing the leadership ofStockwell Day.He sat as an Independent Alliance MP for the summer, joining theDemocratic Representative Caucusin September before returning to the Alliance in April 2002. He was also one of four Alliance MPs who agreed to sit with theProgressive Conservativecaucus (to preserve theirofficial party status) 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 the2004 election.

Solberg kept a high-profileblog,and in 2005, is thought to have made history when, using hisBlackBerry,he blogged from the floor of the House of Commons immediately upon the passage ofBill C-38,which provided legal recognition ofsame-sex marriage.Solberg was opposed to the bill. In 2006, Solberg again won hisMedicine Hatriding, with 79.7% of the vote, the second highest winning percentage in the country for the2006 federal election.He suspended updating his blog after being appointedMinister of Citizenship and Immigration.

In the January 4, 2007, cabinet shuffle, Solberg was appointed the new minister of Human Resources and Social Development, replacingDiane Finley.

Retirement and present status

Thought by some to seek a leadership bid of the Conservative party, Solberg surprised many when he announced on September 4, 2008, that he was retiring from politics and would not be a candidate in the40th Canadian federal election.

Solberg is a columnist with theCalgary Sun,a contributor toSun News Network,formerly a full-time consultant forFleishman-Hillard Canada,and now Principal at New West Public Affairs, a public affairs firm based in Calgary. He also serves as a Governor with the International Development Research Centre, a crown corporation dedicated to generating and applying new knowledge to meet the challenges facing the world's poorest countries.

External links

• Solberg's official Blog
• Monte Solberg – Parliament of Canada biography
• Monte Solberg