He received a Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 1877 from McGill University and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1878.

Monk was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1896 as a Conservative Member of Parliament for the riding of Jacques Cartier.

In 1909 he pressed the House of Commons to appoint a committee of MPs to investigate methods of proportional representation.

He resigned from Cabinet on October 28, 1912, after disagreeing with Sir Robert Borden over the refusal of a referendum on Canadian purchase of three dreadnought class ships for Laurier's "Tin Pot Navy.

Monk continued as a backbench MP, though his relations with the Conservative Party were increasingly strained, until March 2, 1914, when he resigned from the House of Commons due to ill health.