Marc Garneau was the first Canadian in space and later served as Transport Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Now semi-retired, the 75-year-old is looking back at what he calls A Most Extraordinary Ride in a new memoir. has Garneau following in the footsteps of fellow former Trudeau cabinet ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould, Bill Morneau, and Jane Philpott, who put pen to paper before him.
But Garneau insists his memoir isn’t just about politics. “The political part of it is only about 20 per cent of my life,” he said. “I set out to write an autobiography, and equally important to me are not only my political life, but also my life in the space business, first as an astronaut, and then as president of the Canadian Space Agency.
” Garneau says his life changed forever in the summer of 1983 when he saw an ad in the paper looking for Canadian astronauts. “I thought, ‘Wow, this would be an incredible adventure.’ I always liked adventure, and to be out there on the frontier of doing something so unique, I couldn’t help myself, and I thought, ‘Well, if I don’t send in my resume, I’m going to kick myself,'” he said.
“Lo and behold, six months later, I was chosen as one of the first six, and three months later, I was chosen to be the first to go.” John Ackermann sits down with Marc Garneau, author of A Most Extraordinary Ride In all, he spent eight days and 133 Earth orbits in space. Like many of his generation, Garnea.
