Inky Mark was born in Toysun Province, China, and came to Canada in 1955 with his mother and a sister where they joined his father and grandfather who had immigrated some years earlier. The family settled in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba where Inky’s parents owned and operated Rex Café.

He graduated from Gilbert Plains High School, from Brandon University with a Bachelor of Arts, and from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Education.

Inky began his teaching career in Robin, Manitoba. He also taught in Crane River before moving to Dauphin. He and his wife Lynda also owned and operated Pat’s Factory Warehouse, Intermountain Realty and a National Real Estate franchise while running a sow and weanling operation.

Inky began his political career as a member of the Dauphin Town Council in 1991. He was then successfully elected to Parliament in 1997 as a member of the Reform Party, and was re-elected as a Canadian Alliance MP in 2000 where he served as the Chief Opposition Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In 2002, Inky joined the Progressive Conservative Party and again served as Citizenship and Immigration Critic as well as for Indian Affairs and Northern Development. He later added to his duties the task of Chief Critic for Justice, the Solicitor General and Public Safety.

With the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and the Canadian Alliance in December 2003, Inky became a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. In January of 2004 he was again named critic for Citizenship and Immigration.