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Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau (; February 23, 1949 – June 4, 2025) was a
Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...
officer, astronaut, and politician. Garneau served as a naval officer before being selected as an astronaut as part of the 1983 NRC Group. He became the first Canadian in space on October 5, 1984, and flew on three
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...
missions. From 2001 to 2005, Garneau was president of the
Canadian Space Agency The Canadian Space Agency (CSA; ) is the national space agency of Canada, established in 1990 by the ''Canadian Space Agency Act''. The President of the Canadian Space Agency, president is Lisa Campbell (civil servant), Lisa Campbell, who took ...
(CSA). Garneau entered politics and was elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
in 2008, serving as a Montreal-area member of Parliament (MP) until 2023. A member of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
, Garneau served as
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
from January to October in 2021 and as Minister of Transport from 2015 to 2021. Born in
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
, Garneau joined the Canadian Armed Forces, graduating with a bachelor's degree in engineering physics from the
Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...
in 1970, and serving with Maritime Command (now known as the Royal Canadian Navy) as a combat systems engineer. He earned a PhD in electrical engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology in 1973. In 1983, Garneau was selected to be an astronaut. In 1984, he became the first Canadian in space as part of STS-41-G and served on two subsequent missions: STS-77 and STS-97. He was appointed executive vice-president of the CSA in February 2001, before becoming the agency's president in November. Garneau resigned from the CSA in 2005, and was elected to
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in 2008. The Liberal Party formed government following the 2015 election and Garneau was appointed to Cabinet. After serving as transport minister and foreign affairs minister, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not appoint Garneau to another portfolio after a Cabinet shuffle following the 2021 election. In 2023, Garneau retired from politics. Garneau died in Montreal at 76 years old on June 4, 2025, after a short battle with cancer.


Early life

Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau was born into a military family on February 23, 1949, in
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. His grandfather, Gérard Garneau, was a colonel who served in the Canadian military during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...
from Quebec City who joined the military during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. His mother, Jean Richardson, was
English Canadian English Canadians (), or Anglo-Canadians (), refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage or to English-speaking or Anglophone Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadians. Cana ...
from Sussex, New Brunswick, and was a nurse during World War II. She met André while nursing him at a military hospital before he deployed overseas. brigadier general.


Education and military career

Garneau’s frequent relocations due to his father’s occupation during his upbringing necessitated his attendance at various schools, spanning both primary and secondary education, in Quebec City,
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu () is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Canadian province of Quebec, about southeast of Montreal, located roughly halfway between Montreal and the Canada–United States border with the state of Vermont. It is sit ...
and
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. He graduated from the
Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...
in 1970 with a
bachelor of science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
in
engineering physics Engineering physics (EP), sometimes engineering science, is the field of study combining pure science disciplines (such as physics, mathematics, chemistry or biology) and engineering disciplines (computer, nuclear, electrical, aerospace, medic ...
and began his career in the
Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...
Maritime Command. In 1973, he received a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in electrical engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England. His thesis was titled "The Perception of Facial Images". The Photofit
analogue computer An analog computer or analogue computer is a type of computation machine (computer) that uses physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities behaving according to the mathematical principles in question (''analog s ...
was used by him to discriminate facial features. In 1974, Garneau served as a naval combat systems engineer aboard . From 1982 to 1983, he attended the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College in Toronto. While there, he was promoted to the rank of
commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
and was transferred to Ottawa in 1983. In January 1986, he was promoted to
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
. Garneau retired from the Canadian Forces in 1989.


Space career

On December 5, 1983, the
National Research Council of Canada The National Research Council Canada (NRC; ) is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research and development. It is the largest federal research and development organization in Canada. Th ...
(NRC) announced Canada's first group of astronauts that were to fly on NASA's
Space Transportation System The Space Transportation System (STS), also known internally to NASA as the Integrated Program Plan (IPP), was a proposed system of reusable crewed spacecraft, space vehicles envisioned in 1969 to support extended operations beyond the Apollo ...
. Garneau joined this first Canadian Astronaut Program (CAP) group, as one of six chosen from over 4,300 applicants. Of these six original astronauts, he was the only military officer. Garneau became the first Canadian to reach
space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...
on October 5, 1984, when Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' flew into low-Earth orbit. Garneau's first spaceflight was aboard the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'', on the STS-41-G mission, from October 5 to 13, 1984. He was a
payload specialist A payload specialist (PS) was an individual selected and trained by commercial or research organizations for flights of a specific payload on a NASA Space Shuttle mission. People assigned as payload specialists included individuals selected by t ...
. He was promoted to the rank of Navy Captain in 1986, and left the Canadian Forces in 1989, to become deputy director of the CAP. In 1992–93, he underwent further training to become a
mission specialist Mission specialist (MS) is a term for a specific position held by astronauts who are tasked with conducting a range of scientific, medical, or engineering experiments during a spaceflight mission. These specialists were usually assigned to a s ...
. He worked as
CAPCOM is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...
for a number of shuttle flights and was on two further flights himself: STS-77 (May 19 to 29, 1996) and STS-97 (to the ISS, November 30 to December 11, 2000). He logged 677 hours in space. On February 1, 2001, Garneau was appointed executive vice-president of the
Canadian Space Agency The Canadian Space Agency (CSA; ) is the national space agency of Canada, established in 1990 by the ''Canadian Space Agency Act''. The President of the Canadian Space Agency, president is Lisa Campbell (civil servant), Lisa Campbell, who took ...
(CSA). On September 28, 2001, the government announced his appointment as president of the CSA, replacing Mac Evans in that position on November 22, 2001. Garneau resigned from the Canadian Space Agency on November 28, 2005. File:STS-41-G crew.jpg, Crew members of STS-41-G in 1984 File:Marc Garneau - Astronaut Portrait.jpg, Garneau in 1992, while training with
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
as a mission specialist File:STS-77 crew.jpg, Crew members of STS-77 in 1996 File:STS-97 crew.jpg, Crew members of STS-97 in 1999 File:STS-97 Marc Garneau in the hatchway to PMA-3 (cropped).jpg, Garneau floats in the hatchway that leads to '' Endeavour''


Political career

Garneau served as the Member of Parliament (MP) in the Canadian House of Commons for over 14 years. He represented two electoral districts during this time, first Westmount—Ville-Marie, and after the
2012 Canadian federal electoral redistribution The federal electoral redistribution of 2012 was a redistribution (election), redistribution of Electoral district (Canada), electoral districts ("ridings") in Canada following the results of the 2011 Canadian census. As a result of amendments to t ...
, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount. His first attempt to win elected office was unsuccessful, as he placed second in the Vaudreuil—Soulanges electoral district during the 2006 federal election. He first won elected office as a result of the 2008 federal election, winning his seat by over 9,000 votes. He was re-elected to the House of Commons in the 2011 federal election by 642 votes. His electoral district was abolished and he stood for office in the newly created Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount district for the 2015 federal election. He won the election with a majority of over 18,000. On November 28, 2012, Garneau announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal Party to be decided in April 2013. On March 13, 2013, Garneau formally withdrew his bid for the party leadership. On November 4, 2015, Garneau was appointed Minister of Transport in the
29th Canadian Ministry The Twenty-Ninth Canadian Ministry was the Cabinet of Canada, Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that began governing Canada shortly before the opening of the 42nd Parliament of Canada, 42nd Parliament. ...
of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He became Minister of Foreign Affairs on January 12, 2021, after a cabinet reshuffle.


Initial steps (2006–2008)

Garneau resigned as the president of the Canadian Space Agency to run for the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2006 federal election in the riding of Vaudreuil—Soulanges, which was then held by Meili Faille of the
Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...
. The Liberal Party's support dropped off considerably in Quebec after the
Sponsorship scandal The sponsorship scandal, AdScam or Sponsorgate, was a scandal in Canada that came as a result of a federal government " sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006. ...
and though considered a
star candidate A star candidate () is high-profile individual who is entering or re-entering elected politics. In Canada and the United Kingdom, the recruitment of a star candidate often includes a guaranteed nomination in a winnable seat. Star candidates com ...
, Garneau lost to Faille by over 9,000 votes. In the 2006 Liberal Party leadership election Garneau announced his support for perceived front-runner
Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff ( ; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a historian, Ignatieff has ...
, who lost to
Stéphane Dion Stéphane Maurice Dion (; ; born 28September 1955) is a Canadian diplomat, academic and former politician who has been the List of ambassadors of Canada to France, Canadian ambassador to France and Monaco since 2022 and special envoy to the Eu ...
on the final ballot. With the resignation of Liberal MP
Jean Lapierre Jean-Charles Lapierre (May 7, 1956 – March 29, 2016) was a Canadian politician and television and radio broadcaster. After retiring from the government in 2007, he served as a political analyst in a variety of venues. He was Paul Martin's Q ...
in 2007, Garneau expressed interest in being the party's candidate in Lapierre's former riding of Outremont. Dion instead appointed Jocelyn Coulon as the party's candidate, who went on to be defeated by the New Democratic Party's Thomas Mulcair in the by-election. In May 2007, Garneau filed nomination papers to be the party's candidate in Westmount—Ville-Marie, after former Liberal Party deputy leader
Lucienne Robillard Lucienne Robillard (born June 16, 1945) is a Canadian politician and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. She sat in the House of Commons of Canada as the member of Parliament for the riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec ...
announced she would not be seeking re-election. However, a week after filing his nomination papers Dion announced that he had hand-picked a candidate for the riding. Garneau later withdrew his nomination papers and announced he no longer had an interest in politics. In October 2007, Garneau and Dion held a joint news conference where they announced that Garneau would be the Liberal Party candidate in Westmount—Ville-Marie. Robillard announced her resignation as Member of Parliament in January and a by-election was later scheduled for September 8, 2008. However, the by-election was cancelled during the campaign when Prime Minister
Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
called a general election for October 14, 2008. Though some pundits predicted a close race between Garneau and NDP candidate Anne Lagacé-Dowson, Garneau went on to win the riding by over 9,000 votes.


Member of 40th Parliament

Garneau was a member of the Industry, Science and Technology committee of the 40th Parliament. He also served on the Canada-Japan interparliamentary group.


41st Parliament and leadership campaign

Garneau was narrowly re-elected in the 2011 election where he beat New Democratic Party candidate Joanne Corbeil. He was Liberal House leader and served from 2013 as Liberal foreign affairs critic. He was a candidate for interim leadership of the Liberal Party, but was ultimately defeated by
Bob Rae Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of the ...
. Garneau announced later that year that he was considering a bid for the permanent leadership of the party. In the summer of 2012, he announced that he was looking for a "dream team" to run his leadership bid and that he would only run if he could find the right people. On November 21, 2012, Garneau was named his party's natural resources critic after
David McGuinty David Joseph McGuinty (born February 25, 1960) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has been the Minister of National Defence since May 2025. A member of the Liberal Party, McGuinty has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Ottawa S ...
resigned the post. On November 28, 2012, Garneau announced his bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party, placing a heavy focus on the economy. While fellow leadership candidate
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
was widely seen as the front-runner in the race, Garneau was thought to be his main challenger among the candidates. With his entrance into the leadership race he resigned his post as Liberal House leader, while remaining the party's critic for natural resources. At the press conference announcing his candidacy Garneau ruled out any form of co-operation with the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
or
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...
to help defeat the Conservative Party in the next election, which was proposed by leadership candidate
Joyce Murray Joyce Catherine Murray (born July 11, 1954) is a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Vancouver Quadra in the House of Commons as a member of the Liberal Party from 2008 until 2025. She was re-elected in the 41st, 42nd, 43rd, ...
. On January 30, 2013, Garneau was replaced as natural resources critic by Ted Hsu. Garneau had been serving in the position on an interim basis. On March 13, 2013, Garneau announced his withdrawal from the race, and threw his support to front-runner
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
. On September 18, 2013, Garneau was named co-chair of the Liberal International Affairs Council of Advisors, providing advice on foreign and defence issues to
Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...
leader
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
.


Minister of Transport in the 42nd Parliament

In the
2015 elections Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African gene ...
held on October 19, 2015, Garneau was re-elected as MP in the newly created riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount. Two weeks later, on November 4, 2015, Garneau was appointed the minister of transport by Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
. In May 2017, Garneau introduced an airline passenger bill of rights to standardize how passengers can be treated by airlines which operate any flights in and out of Canada. The legislation would create minimum compensation rates for overbooking, lost or damaged luggage, and bumping passengers off flights. It would also prohibit airlines from removing people from the flight if they have purchased a ticket and set the standard for tarmac delays and airline treatment of passengers when flights are delayed or cancelled over events in the airline's control, or because of weather conditions. In March 2019, after days of initial refusal to take actions following the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, Garneau who had even gone so far as to say on March 11 that he would board a 737 MAX 8 "without hesitation" as an apparent show of support for the
Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
Company, finally agreed on March 13 to ground and prohibit all
Boeing 737 MAX The Boeing 737 MAX is a series of narrow-body aircraft developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes as the fourth generation of the Boeing 737. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation and incorporates more efficient CFM International LEAP engin ...
aircraft from flying in Canadian airspace. The Trump administration followed suit later that day. This stood in contrast to the ministry's previous stance, where Garneau insisted the plane was safe to fly, thus making Canada one of the only two nations still flying a substantial number of Boeing 737 MAX planes at the time.


Minister of Foreign Affairs in the 43rd Parliament

Garneau continued to serve as Minister of Transport after the elections to the 43rd Parliament held in October 2019. He was at Transport for the first two years of the
Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, and thus he was responsible to enforce the '' Quarantine Act'' as lieutenant to the Minister of Health
Patty Hajdu Patricia A. Hajdu (; born November 3, 1966) is a Canadians, Canadian politician who has served as the Minister of Jobs and Families, Minister of jobs and families since May 13, 2025. Prior to that she served as Minister of Indigenous Services ...
; during this time he made many decisions that would affect the lives of travellers in co-ordination with Hadju. Garneau then served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from January 12, 2021, until October 26, 2021. On January 12, 2021, following the resignation of Navdeep Bains as
minister of innovation, science and industry The minister of industry () is the minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada, Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. The minister of industry is also the minister responsible for Sta ...
, Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
shuffled the Cabinet, with Garneau becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs and Omar Alghabra taking his place at Transport. Garneau was described as one of the most qualified and capable members of Cabinet.


44th Parliament

Following the cabinet shuffle stemming from the election in October 2021, Garneau was dropped from Cabinet on October 26, despite being re-elected to his seat in the House. Some speculated that Garneau did not remain in cabinet due to his age, being sacrificed in the name of gender parity, and that he reportedly refused to be subservient to the Prime Minister's Office. On March 8, 2023, Garneau announced that he would resign his seat and retire from politics. He gave his farewell speech in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
the same day. The
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
to replace him in parliament occurred June 19, 2023. Liberal Anna Gainey succeeded him, with almost as big a majority of votes as Garneau had won previously.


Retirement and death

In retirement, Garneau continued to advocate for the advantages of human spaceflight in building space infrastructure for monitoring the planet and for communications. In autumn 2024, Garneau's autobiography, ''A Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream'' was published in Canada. Early in 2025, Garneau was diagnosed with both
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...
and
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
. In the final weeks of his life. he was a patient at
McGill University Health Centre The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC; ) is one of two major healthcare networks in the city of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec. It is affiliated with McGill University and one of the largest medical complexes in Montreal. It is the largest hospita ...
's Glen Site, in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
. His family announced he lost his battle with cancer, and died on June 4, 2025, at age 76. After the announcement, members of the Canadian House of Commons stood for a moment of silence to remember their recent colleague. His first wife and mother to two of his children, Jacqueline Brown, predeceased him by suicide in 1987, shortly after the couple separated. He is survived by his second wife, Pam Garneau, and four children, Yves, Simone, George, and Adrien.


Awards and honours

Garneau was appointed an Officer of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...
in 1984 in recognition of his role as the first Canadian astronaut. He was promoted the rank of Companion within the order in 2003 for his extensive work with Canada's space program. He is honoured with two high schools named after him,
Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute, formerly known as Overlea Secondary School, is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada within the North York area, and part of the Toronto District School Board. Until 1998, this school was part of the East Yor ...
in Toronto and École secondaire publique Marc-Garneau in
Trenton, Ontario Trenton (2001 population 16,770) is a large community in Central Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the starting point for the Trent-Severn Waterway, which continues northwest to Pe ...
. Garneau was the Honorary Captain of the
Royal Canadian Sea Cadets The Royal Canadian Sea Cadets (RCSC; ) is a Canadian national youth program sponsored by the Canadian Armed Forces and the civilian Navy League of Canada. Administered by the Canadian Forces, the program is funded through the Department of Nati ...
. In addition, no 599 Royal Canadian Air Cadets squadron is named in his honour. Garneau was awarded the Key to the City of
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
from Marion Dewar the Mayor of Ottawa on December 10, 1984. He was inducted into the
International Space Hall of Fame The New Mexico Museum of Space History is a museum and planetarium complex in Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States, dedicated to artifacts and displays related to space flight and the Space Age. It includes the International Space Hall of Fam ...
in 1992.


Honorary degrees


Electoral record


See also

* List of Canadian university leaders


Sources

*


References


External links

* *
Canadian Space Agency biography

CBC Digital Archives – Marc Garneau: Canadian Space Pioneer
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Garneau, Marc 1949 births 2025 deaths 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Alumni of Imperial College London Astronaut-politicians Canadian astronauts Canadian Roman Catholics Chancellors of Carleton University Companions of the Order of Canada Deaths from cancer in Quebec Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the 29th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Ministers of foreign affairs of Canada Ministers of transport of Canada People from Westmount, Quebec Politicians from Quebec City Presidents of the Canadian Space Agency Royal Canadian Navy officers Royal Military College of Canada alumni Royal Military College Saint-Jean people Space Shuttle program astronauts Systems engineers