Marc Garneau tells of his time as an astronaut, riding the space shuttle three times, and turning to politics with the issues he covered.

I met Marc Garneau for the first time about six months before he passed away, even though he inspired my entire career. This was a very intriguing book that showed me how little I knew about him, especially his early life. I was surprised to enjoy the parts about him as a politician more than the earlier sections as an astronaut. The astronaut section is more detail-oriented, less emotional, describing the events as science, but fortunately adding interesting stories to go along with it. Although that’s the part I bought the book for, I was a little disappointed by its presentation. The transition from astronaut to politician, though, gained momentum as he describes his travels, decisions and opinions about transport to foreign affairs. Maybe it’s because it was fresh in his memory, or that he was paying more attention to the emotions or just because he was older, but his writing is more engaging in the second half. In all, though, it was a very interesting read.

I’ve wanted to be an astronaut for as long as I can remember, at least back to grade five, which is coincidentally around the time the first Canadian astronauts were selected. After graduating high school and attending Space Camp twice, I wrote Marc Garneau at the Canadian Space Agency, and asked him the best route. He sent me a letter explaining how he did it and the best route at the time. PhD in engineering is a good start, public speaking, stay fit, and so on, all good advice in most careers. I went on to get my PhD in engineering, I was already a black belt in karate, and my experience as a technical assistant for several engineering courses allowed me to practice public speaking. I even passed the first round of astronaut selection in 2008. Pretty good as a role model, I’d say.

Unfortunately, he passed away quickly earlier this year, which came as a shock. He didn’t get to enjoy retirement as much as he’d hoped.

The first part of the book describes his life as a boy and young man who joined the navy. It sounds like a fun but intensive time, and it’s described in technical detail, and seems to be intended to show how he learned lessons in how to be a role model by showing how he was insubordinate and felt entitled, and how he was put in his place each time.

The call to be an astronaut sparked his interest, and after some soul searching, he applied and funneled down each step of the selection process until he was chosen. The writing makes this sound more like a history book than an experience, even though we’re told he inserted emotional moments later. The writing is a bit stilted, but still inspires. The sheer majesty of traveling into space is enough to overawe, and he did it three times!

Details of each mission are explained so the readers understand what science was being performed and why. It’s fascinating and could have been dull, but he manages to infuse it with interesting stories.

His career seems to be made up of practical, though quick, decisions. From navy to astronaut, then retiring as astronaut to become President of the Canadian Space Agency, and then politician, he makes it sound like he weighed every decision heavily, but the time was always right for the transition, and he made the decision quickly.

I liked the technical detail about the space shuttle training, and because I was more involved in my own schooling at the time, I didn’t know about many of the experiments he performed in his later missions, and especially what he initiated as the head of the space agency. He made the new projects, which hopefully continued after he left, sound very interesting.

The second half of the book deals with his life in politics, following the example of John Glenn and others who also wanted to make a difference. As an engineer, he was too honest, but as he learned how to navigate the political landscape, he used that honesty to his advantage. He seems to have managed to get things done even as a back-bencher of the opposition, then eventually as part of the majority party. Throughout his time as Transport minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, he talks about how he views the world, which was highly interesting. Unfortunately, at the same time he drops way too many names, way more than he did in the astronaut section. It seems that every meeting he went to, he give us the names of the people he traveled with, people we mostly never see again. I think he could have left out the minor players, though in his mind he probably wanted to acknowledge them because of the group effort.

His insights on transport were intriguing. I recall some of the incidents he speaks about, like the railway strike and the airplane crashes. I loved reading about his opinions on how transport should be run, even though he couldn’t do it all, and left the position with some things undone. Transportation truly defines how we live our lives, and not just well-maintained roads, but bridges, airplanes and especially rail, which takes much more than we typically think about.

Garneau doesn’t mince words about former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, either. While he respected him, I believe Garneau thought the government should have been run more like an engineering company! They were never friendly, and rarely met, even though both of his ministerial positions could have used some involvement from the PM. Garneau even tried out for the PM position, but lost out. I wonder what it would have looked like with an astronaut in charge.

As Foreign minister, he had some very intense views, especially on contentious issues like Israel, Russia, and Iran. He explains a lot of the history of those conflicts, and his views on how things could be resolved, though many of his meetings ended without any consensus.

At home, he also spends some time on issues such as indigenous affairs (where the government has shifted its attitude since the 1990s), Bill 101 in Quebec (which he strangely supported), the notwithstanding clause (which he didn't), Covid19 restrictions, North America Free Trade, and more. Strangely missing is any mention of the Emergency Measures act to remove the truckers protest in Ottawa during Covid.

I wonder what he would think of the world we live in today. He proclaims himself as a Star Trek fan due to its positive message of inclusion and negotiation, much of which seems to have fallen apart in many places. As an astronaut, he had a worlds’ eye view, and he saw how fragile the planet looks. He tried to make it a better place by jumping into politics, but the inertia of politics limited his reach.

Rest in peace, Marc Garneau. You were an inspiration to me and many others. May your legacy continue.