Marc Garneau

Marc Garneau
C.C., CD, Ph.D., F.C.A.S.I., MP
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Westmount—Ville-Marie
Incumbent
Assumed office
2008
Preceded by Lucienne Robillard
Personal details
Born Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau
February 23, 1949
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Pamela Soame
Children Yves, Simone, Adrien, George
Residence Montreal, Quebec
Alma mater Royal Military College of Canada
Imperial College London
Occupation Astronaut, Naval Engineer
Website www.marcgarneau.ca
NRC/CSA Astronaut
Rank Captain, RCN
Time in space
 29d 02h 01m
Selection 1983 NRC Group
Missions STS-41-G in 1984, STS-77 in 1996, STS-97 in 2000
Mission insignia

Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau, C.C., CD, Ph.D., F.C.A.S.I., MP (born February 23, 1949) is a Canadian politician, retired military officer, former astronaut, and engineer. He has served as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie since 2008. On November 28, 2012, Garneau announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada to be decided in April 2013. On March 13, 2013, Garneau formally withdrew his bid for the Party leadership.[1] Garneau was the first Canadian in outer space taking part in three flights aboard NASA Space shuttles. He was the president of the Canadian Space Agency from 2001 to 2006, and in 2003 was installed as the ninth Chancellor of Carleton University in Ottawa.[2]

In the 2006 federal election, he unsuccessfully sought a seat in the Canadian House of Commons in the riding of Vaudreuil-Soulanges. Two years later he was elected in the riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie in downtown Montreal, winning by over 9000 votes. He was re-elected to the House of Commons in the 2011 federal election by 642 votes.[3][4][5]

Early life and career

Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau was born on February 23, 1949, in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. He attended primary and secondary schools in Quebec City and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics from the Royal Military College of Canada in 1970, and in 1973 received a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, England. From 1982 to 1983, he attended the Canadian Forces College in Toronto.[2]

Career in the Navy

In 1974, Garneau began his career in the Royal Canadian Navy as a Navy combat systems engineer on HMCS Algonquin. He was promoted to Commander in 1982 while at Staff College and was transferred to Ottawa in 1983. In January 1986, he was promoted to Captain and retired from the Navy in 1989.[2]

Career with the Canadian Space Agency

Garneau was one of the first Canadian Astronauts and he became the first Canadian in outer space in October 1984.[6] In 1984, he was seconded to the new Canadian Astronaut Program (CAP), one of six chosen from over 4,000 applicants. He flew on the shuttle Challenger, STS-41-G from October 5 to 13, 1984, as payload specialist. He was promoted to Captain in 1986, and left the Navy in 1989, to become deputy director of the CAP. In 1992-93, he underwent further training to become a mission specialist. He worked as CAPCOM 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 has logged over 677 hours in space.[7]

In February 2001, he was appointed executive vice-president of the Canadian Space Agency, and became its president on November 22, 2001.[6]

Political career

Garneau in 2014.

Garneau resigned as 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 represented by Meili Faille of the Bloc Québécois.[8] The Liberal Party's support dropped off considerably in Quebec after the Sponsorship scandal and though considered a star candidate Garneau lost to Faille by over nine thousand votes.[9][10]

In the 2006 Liberal Party leadership election Garneau announced his support for perceived front-runner Michael Ignatieff, who lost to Stéphane Dion on the final ballot.[11] With the resignation of Liberal MP Jean Lapierre in 2007, Garneau expressed interest in being the party's candidate in Lapierre's former riding of Outremont.[12] Despite his interest in being the Liberal candidate in Outremont, Dion appointed Jocelyn Coulon as the party's candidate for the by-election. Coulon went on to be defeated by the New Democratic Party's Thomas Mulcair in the by-election.[13]

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 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. Garneau stated he changed his mind about running for politics after meeting with Dion.[12] Robillard announced her resignation as Member of Parliament in January and a by-election was later scheduled for September 8, 2008.[14][15] However, the by-election was cancelled during the campaign when Prime Minister Stephen Harper 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.[3][16]

Garneau was narrowly reelected in the 2011 election where he beat New Democratic Party candidate Joanne Corbeil. he was Liberal House Leader, now serves as Liberal Foreign affairs Critic. He was a candidate for interim leadership of the Liberal Party, but was ultimately defeated by Bob Rae.[17][18] Garneau announced later that year that he was considering a bid for the permanent leadership of the party.[19] 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.[20][21]

On November 21, 2012, Garneau was named his party's Natural Resources critic after David McGuinty resigned the post after saying that Conservative members of Parliament from Alberta "really should go back to Alberta" and run for the Alberta legislature or municipal office if they were not willing to adopt a national outlook with regards to energy.[22] 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[23]

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 leader Justin Trudeau.[24][25]

Leadership

On November 28, 2012, Garneau announced his bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party, placing a heavy focus on the economy.[26][27] While fellow leadership candidate Justin Trudeau was widely seen as the frontrunner in the race, Garneau was thought to be his main challenger among the candidates.[28] With his entrance into the leadership race he resigned his post as Liberal House Leader, while remaining the party's critic for Natural Resources.[29]

At the press conference announcing his candidacy Garneau ruled out any form of co-operation with the Green Party or New Democratic Party to help defeat the Conservative Party in the next election, which was proposed by leadership candidate Joyce Murray.[30]

On 13 March 2013 Garneau announced his withdrawal from the race, and threw his support to front-runner Justin Trudeau.

Awards and honours

Garneau was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada 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.[31]

He was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration for 12 years of honourable service with the Canadian Forces.

He is honoured with a high school named after him, Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute in Toronto [32] and É.S.P. Marc-Garneau[33] in Trenton, Ontario.

Garneau is the Honorary Captain of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets. In addition, no 599 Royal Canadian Air Cadets squadron is named in his honour.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2011: Westmount—Ville-Marie
Party Candidate Votes%
LiberalMarc Garneau 15,346 37.2
New DemocraticJoanne Corbeil 14,704 35.6
ConservativeNeil Drabkin 7,218 17.5
Bloc QuébécoisVéronique Roy 2,278 5.5
GreenAndrew Carkner 1,516 3.7
RhinocerosVictoria Haliburton 140 0.3
CommunistBill Sloan 73 0.2
Total valid votes 41,275100.00
Total rejected ballots 165
Turnout 41,31553.6
Electors on the lists 77,084
Canadian federal election, 2008: Westmount—Ville-Marie
Party Candidate Votes%Expenditures
LiberalMarc Garneau 18,041 46.47 $78,009
     New Democratic Party Anne Lagacé Dowson 8,904 22.93 $78,055
     Conservative Guy Dufort 6,139 15.81 $52,254
     Bloc Québécois Charles Larivée 2,818 7.26 $8,237
GreenClaude William Genest 2,733 7.04 not listed
neorhino.caJudith Vienneau 62 0.16 not listed
Marxist–LeninistLinda Sullivan 49 0.13 not listed
     Independent David Sommer Rovins 47 0.12 $30
     Communist Bill Sloan 34 0.09 $898
Total valid votes 38,827 100.00
Total rejected ballots 224
Turnout 39,051 50.64
Electors on the lists 77,112
Canadian federal by-election, September 8, 2008: Westmount—Ville-Marie
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
     Conservative Guy Dufort - - - $77,589
LiberalMarc Garneau - - - $81,759
GreenClaude William Genest - - - not listed
     New Democratic Party Anne Lagacé Dowson - - - $78,078
     Bloc Québécois Charles Larivée - - - $3,123
     Independent Régent Millette - - - none listed
     Independent David Sommer Rovins - - - $30
     Independent Ronald Andrew Wattie - - - $2,405
Note: This election was cancelled on September 7, 2008, and was superseded by the 2008 Canadian federal election.
Canadian federal election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
Bloc QuébécoisMeili Faille 27,012 43.16 -1.13 $85,133
LiberalMarc Garneau 17,768 28.39 -10.41 $79,413
ConservativeStephane Bourgon 11,889 19.00 +10.81 $35,090
New DemocraticBert Markgraf 3,468 5.54 +1.64 $3,385
GreenPierre Pariseau-Legault 2,450 3.91 +0.14 $1,144
Total valid votes/Expense limit 62,587100.00 $85,543

See also

References

  1. ↑ Beardsley, Keith (13 March 2013). "Garneau Stayed in the Race too Long". huffingtonpost.ca. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Marc Garneau Biography". Liberal Party of Canada. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 C, Martin (15 October 2008). "Spaceman lands safely in Westmount-Ville Marie". The Chronicle. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  4. ↑ Faure, Elisabeth (3 May 2011). "Garneau wins by 658 votes". The Westmount Examiner. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  5. ↑ "Official Voting Results / Résultats officiels du scrutin FORTY-FIRST GENERAL ELECTION 2011 / QUARANTE ET UNIÈME ÉLECTION GÉNÉRALE 2011". Elections Canada. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Marc Garneau (PH.D.) Astronaut, Canadian Space Agency (Fromer)". NASA. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  7. ↑ "Biographical Data: Mark Garneau". NASA. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "Canadian to live on space station". The Calgary Herald. 12 February 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  9. ↑ "Voters deliver high-profile wins, defeats". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 24 January 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Conservatives make breakthrough in Quebec; Bloc wins 51 seats". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 24 January 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "Backroom pressure mounts". Canwest News Service. 2 December 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Garneau confirmed on local ballot". Westmount Examiner. 19 October 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  13. ↑ "NDP takes Outremont". The Montreal Gazette. 18 September 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  14. ↑ Larsen, Wayne (11 June 2008). "Garneau looks forward to by-election". Montréal Express. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  15. ↑ "Harper calls three federal by elections for early September". Canadian Press. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  16. ↑ "Tight Liberal/NDP race predicted for Westmount-Ville Marie by-election". The West Island Chronicle. 13 August 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  17. ↑ "Liberals choose Rae as interim leader". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Rae takes over the Liberal reins". Toronto Star. May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  19. ↑ "MP Garneau eyes run at Liberal leadership". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 December 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  20. ↑ Berthiaume, Lee (15 August 2012). "Marc Garneau searching for mission control before launching Liberal leadership bid". Canada.com. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  21. ↑ Den Tandt, Michael (11 September 2012). "Marc Garneau preparing for liftoff with Liberals". Canada.com. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  22. ↑ "MP McGuinty drops critic role over 'go back to Alberta' gibe". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  23. ↑ "The return of David McGuinty". Maclean's. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  24. ↑ Den Tandt, Michael (18 September 2013). "Andrew Leslie, former commander of Canadian Army, joins Trudeau’s team as adviser". National Post. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  25. ↑ "Liberals Unveil Co-Chairs of International Affairs Council of Advisors". liberal.ca. Liberal Party of Canada. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  26. ↑ LeBlanc, Daniel (28 November 2012). "'Mr. Harper is a one-trick pony,' Marc Garneau says, launching Liberal leadership bid". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  27. ↑ "Garneau's Liberal leadership campaign officially blasts off". CTV News. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  28. ↑ Abma, Derek (28 November 2012). "Does Marc Garneau create problems for Justin Trudeau?". Global News. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  29. ↑ Blatchford, Andy (28 November 2012). "Ex-astronaut Marc Garneau blasts into federal Liberal leadership race". The Record. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  30. ↑ MacKinnon, Leslie (28 November 2012). "Ex-astronaut Marc Garneau launches Liberal leadership bid". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  31. ↑ Order of Canada citations
  32. ↑ Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute, Toronto, Ontario
  33. ↑ É.S.P. Marc-Garneau, Trenton, Ontario

Books

External links

Academic offices
Preceded by
Ray Hnatyshyn		 Chancellor of Carleton University
2003–2008 		Succeeded by
Herb Gray
Party political offices
Preceded by
Denis Coderre		 Quebec lieutenant for the Liberal Leader
2008–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Needs more research		 Liberal Caucus Chair in Quebec
2008–2008 		Succeeded by
Pablo Rodriguez