Hon. Marc Garneau – DRAFT

Obituary: Marc Garneau was an astronaut, MP and advocate for anglo rights
(The Gazette) .. Garneau spent much of the run-up to his retirement as a lonely voice in opposition to the 2023 federal language bill that many Quebec anglophone advocates said threatened the status of the minority language community. Bill C-13, now a law, attracted criticism for its mention of Bill 96, the Legault government’s sweeping language reform that made pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause, exempting it from protections in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Advocates warned that the nod to Bill 96 in federal legislation risked hampering future efforts to challenge the provincial law in the courts. …
CBC Corner Booth [hosts] also paid tribute to astronaut and politician Marc Garneau, who passed away this week at the age of 76. He was featured in a January episode of alongside former Liberal MP David Lametti.

CTV’s extensive coverage
Marc Garneau, first Canadian in space and former federal minister, dies at 76 including interview with Julie Payette
Canadian astronauts reflect on the legacy of Marc Garneau …

Marc Garneau died after ‘short but very difficult battle’ with cancer, former staffer says
Marc Roy, Garneau’s former chief of staff, told CBC’s Power & Politics that the former minister had been diagnosed with lymphoma and leukemia earlier this year.
“Although his diagnosis was only a couple of months ago, he was well until four or five weeks ago. So it went very, very quickly … it’s a very, very tough loss.”
Roy said Garneau only shared his diagnosis with a small circle that agreed to respect his wish for privacy.

Mark Carney
I join all Canadians tonight in mourning the passing of Marc Garneau.
A naval officer, a history-making astronaut, and a public servant of exceptional distinction, he brought dedication and duty to every post he held.
I extend my deepest condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and to all Canadians who looked to him for inspiration. May we all remember him for the national pride and possibility he represented to us all.

Peter Trent: Garneau a most extraordinary man, and friend
Marc Garneau was someone only Canada could bring forth. And the world was made better by his passage.
… If you read his quiet demeanour as a plain humbleness, you’d be in error. Marc wore his intelligence lightly. You inferred his intelligence, as it wasn’t immediately presented. Marc was also conversationally generous. He was soft-spoken, but earnest, with a limitless curiosity. He listened intently. He was respectful and treated everybody, high and low, with equal deference. Someone said Marc had ice-water in his veins — or in French, sang-froid. That was when he was on duty. But he was never aloof. He competed with himself, not others. He wore a naval uniform, a flight suit, and a shirt-and-tie, but Marc was always the same person as he was when at home with friends and family. …

The Canadian Space Agency remembers Marc Garneau (video)
In this video, we take a look at his career and his significant contribution to the history of Canadian space exploration. (Credits: Canadian Space Agency, NASA)

James Moore: Marc Garneau was my opposition critic, and a special kind of leader
(CTV) … As the minister responsible for space policy, I did my best. I read everything I could, assembled a roundtable of advisors who educated me and offered reasonable advice, and I worked to understand the massive file. But, simply put, Marc Garneau in his sleep, with two per cent of his knowledge and experience engaged, could dismantle any mishandling of this file if I got things wrong.
So, one day in Parliament I crossed the floor and sat in the empty seat next to him and asked him for help. I asked him for his advice on space policy and some of the big issues we were wrestling with. I wanted to understand Canada’s ongoing leadership of the International Space Station and the incredible work that Col. Chris Hadfield was doing and how we could benefit from it going forward.
…for over an hour, on file after file after file, Marc Garneau took me to school. He helped. He was thoughtful and kind. He answered my questions, suggested a reading list, schooled me on where our government needed to reconsider things, scolded me gently for not engaging the sector as I should have, and was gracious and helpful in ways that are hard to summarize. He didn’t have to help me — he was my “opposition critic” and it wasn’t his job. But he wasn’t that kind of person or parliamentarian. …

Jeremy Kinsman on LinkedIn:
Shocked and saddened to learn today that Marc Garneau n’est plus, after a short illness.
I have not ever known a more decent man.
There are thousands of current and ex-Foreign Ministers and Ambassadors out there but none who had been 3 times in Space. Under-stated but thoroughly professional, excruciatingly polite, a product of naval discipline, he was personally curious, empathetic, and quietly warm. He was a very good Foreign Minister, shocked but never bitter when callously dropped by a PMO fixated on notions of style over substance. One of our greatest Canadians.

Charlie Angus/The Resistance
Marc Garneau served this country with determination and dignity. I was honoured to serve in Parliament with him. He represented the best of public service.
He flew to space, now it is time to fly to the angels.

Chris Neal
Saddened by Marc Garneau’s passing. A decent man, a courageous astronaut, a public servant with his eyes open, but his heart too. He was kind enough to accept our invitation to be the special guest at the McGill Community for Lifelong Learning’s annual meeting, where it was my honour to interview him on March 28, 2025. He was thoughtful and feisty, calling on Canadians to be bold in seizing opportunities in space industries, among others, to directly participate in space exploration, to build on Canada’s leadership in robotics as demonstrated by the Canadarm…and to work against climate change. He was full of life and wisdom. Rest in Peace Mr. Garneau.
2025 Annual General Meeting with Marc Garneau

Désirée McGraw
I am deeply saddened to learn of Marc Garneau’s passing — former federal MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, longtime colleague and friend. He represented our community in Ottawa with integrity and dedication.
My thoughts are with his wife Pamela, his children, and all who love him. Thank you, Marc, for your exceptional public service.

David Lametti
Marc Garneau was a mentor, a brilliant colleague and hero. Most importantly, he was a friend. The Monday 6:00 am train from Montreal to Ottawa was never the same. And watching Marc get a hero’s welcome at the Canadian Space Agency in St-Hubert marked me. Merci, mon ami pour ton engagement. Repose-toi en paix

Marc Miller
Most of us don’t get to meet our heroes, much less work with them and become
friends. Marc Garneau’s unmatched intellect and clarity of thought were beautiful to admire up close, not to mention his understated but wicked sense of humour. Rest in Peace, my friend.

Brigitte Garceau
Je suis dévastée et attristée par la perte de Marc Garneau, un ami et un grand homme d’État. Je garde de précieux souvenirs de sa première campagne dans Westmount-Ville-Marie et ses années en tant que député. Malgré tous nos efforts pour lui, nous avons beaucoup appris de sa sagesse et de ses expériences, qu’il a si généreusement partagées. Malgré tous les défis politiques, Marc est resté fidèle à ce qui lui tenait le plus à cœur, après sa famille : son intégrité, qu’il n’a jamais failli. Nous ne reverrons pas de sitôt un homme comme lui.
J’offre mes plus sincères condoléances à Pamela et à leurs enfants.
I am devastated and saddened by the loss of Marc Garneau, a friend and great statesman. I recall fond memories of his first Westmount-Ville-Marie campaign and his years as an MP. As hard as we worked for him, we gained so much more from his wisdom and experiences that he so generously shared. Through all of the political challenges, Marc held fast to the one thing that he cared most about beside his family. His integrity, from which he never faltered. We shall not soon see his like again.
My heartfelt condolences to Pamela and to their children.

TALQ (formerly QCGN)
As were so many others, we were shocked and saddened by the death last week of Canada’s first astronaut and former Westmount MP and federal cabinet minister Marc Garneau at the age of 76. Too soon. Marc was a friend to our community and stood strongly in its defence when objecting to the inclusion in Bill C-13 (the updated of the federal Official Languages Act passed in 1923) of references to Quebec’s Bill 96. “Let’s be clear,” he said. “An English speaker in Quebec, lives in Quebec, works in Quebec, sends his children to school in Quebec, obtains his services in Quebec and is subject to the laws of Quebec. He may well be in a predominantly English-speaking country, but his life is in Quebec. His reality is in Quebec. In Quebec, he is part of a minority.” Our condolences go out to his family and loved ones. Marc Garneau made an enormous contribution to this country, in so many ways. Never was the description of someone as a “star” more apt.

Marc Garneau left lasting legacy on Earth and in space, former colleagues say
(National Newswatch) Canadian scientists working on asteroid missions, exploring the universe through the James Webb Space Telescope or helping to put rovers on Mars say they can in some way thank Marc Garneau, who left an enduring legacy both as an astronaut and head of the country’s space agency.
While best-known in later years as a federal cabinet minister, Garneau, who died this week at 76, was also a Navy officer, a systems engineer, and an astronaut with a lifelong passion for science, according to his friends and colleagues.
…Garneau would carry his love of science — as well as his significant technical knowledge — into his next role as a politician, according to his former chief of staff and close personal friend [Marc Roy]
… Roy said Garneau brought a scientist’s analytic, “Spock-like” demeanor to his roles. But he said some of the issues Garneau championed most passionately were social causes, including serving as a joint chair of the special joint committee on medical assistance in dying.
And, despite his considerable intelligence, Roy said Garneau remained humble.
“He had a very rare quality in a politician, from his very debut until the very last day before he retired as member of Parliament, which was: he listened more than he talked,” Roy said.
He said his friend was diagnosed only months ago with two cancers: leukemia and lymphoma, and died after a battle that was “brave but short.”
Roy said his friend’s time since retirement was spent enjoying time with his wife, Pam, and his children, and completing work on his autobiography, “A Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream.” Roy said the book gave Garneau closure.
“He wanted to tell the story that, ‘I’m just like everybody else and I failed and I’ve screwed up and I pulled up my socks and I learned from my mistakes and I moved on,'” Roy said. “And that was very important for him to tell that story, and I’m just so fortunate that he had the time to do that.”

Michael Higgins: Garneau’s moral compass always pointed true north
As an astronaut, Garneau reached the stars, as a politician he served honourably and faithfully, despite tawdry treatment from Trudeau
It is a measure of the man that in a world where values, virtue, and self-sacrifice seem anachronistic, Marc Garneau embodied them.
Following his death on Wednesday at age 76 after a brief illness, there was lavish praise and kind words for Garneau whose life was devoted to serving his country.
As an astronaut, Garneau reached the stars, as a politician he served honourably and faithfully, despite his tawdry treatment at the hands of Justin Trudeau. …

Jean Proulx: Remembering Marc Garneau: A Life of Service Beyond the Stars
… The first thing to say of course is that he could have chosen a much easier path. When you are an astronaut and the first Canadian in outer space you are pretty much guaranteed to be loved. Politicians though? Not so much. Sometimes they are appreciated after they retire or after they pass away – with the benefit of time and perspective – but when they are actually practicing politics they attract intense criticism. This has gotten much worse in the era of social media. …

Marc Garneau in Conversation with Journalist Marian Scott – Nov. 28, 2024 (YouTube)
Hon. Marc Garneau, Canada’s first astronaut and Canada’s Minister of Transport and Minister of Foreign Affairs, discussed his life and memoir with journalist Marian Scott at the Atwater Library.

Marc Garneau’s Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics, and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream
By Mike Cohen, The Suburban – 14 October 2024
… When I got my copy of A Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics, and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream I could not put it down. Here he chronicles his once-improbable ascent from a mischievous teenager and rebellious naval midshipman to a decorated astronaut and statesman who represented Canada on the world stage.