Captain (N)Captain may refer to:*Captain which is officially described as Captain *Captain , the rank of captain in many of the world's navies....
(ret'd)
Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau,
CCThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
,
CDThe Canadian Forces Decoration is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to the Governor General of Canada upon his or her appointment as viceroy, which includes the...
, FCASI,
MPThe 40th Canadian Parliament is the current Parliament of Canada, with the membership of its House of Commons determined by the results of the 2008 federal election held on October 14, 2008, and it opened on November 18, 2008...
(born February 23, 1949) is a Canadian astronaut, engineer and politician.
Garneau was the first
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in space, and has taken part in three flights aboard
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
Space shuttleThe Space Shuttle, part of the Space Transportation System , is a spacecraft operated by NASA for orbital human spaceflight missions. It began operations in the 1980s and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010 after 134 launches...
s. He was the president of the
Canadian Space AgencyThe Canadian Space Agency is the Canadian government space agency responsible for Canada's space program. It was established in March 1989 by the Canadian Space Agency Act and sanctioned in December 1990...
from 2001 to 2006, and in 2003 was installed as the ninth Chancellor of
Carleton UniversityCarleton University is an international, comprehensive university located in Canada's capital of Ottawa, Ontario. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines, including public affairs, journalism, film studies, engineering, high...
in
OttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada and a municipality within the Province of Ontario. Located in the Ottawa Valley in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, the city lies on the southern banks of the Ottawa River, a major waterway forming the local boundary between the Provinces of Ontario and...
.
In 2006, Garneau entered politics, seeking a seat as federal Member of Parliament with the
Liberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is a major political party in Canada. The party sits between the centre-left and centre of the Canadian political spectrum. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in the Parliament of Canada since the 2006 federal election...
.
Captain (N)Captain may refer to:*Captain which is officially described as Captain *Captain , the rank of captain in many of the world's navies....
(ret'd)
Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau,
CCThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
,
CDThe Canadian Forces Decoration is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to the Governor General of Canada upon his or her appointment as viceroy, which includes the...
, FCASI,
MPThe 40th Canadian Parliament is the current Parliament of Canada, with the membership of its House of Commons determined by the results of the 2008 federal election held on October 14, 2008, and it opened on November 18, 2008...
(born February 23, 1949) is a Canadian astronaut, engineer and politician.
Garneau was the first
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in space, and has taken part in three flights aboard
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
Space shuttleThe Space Shuttle, part of the Space Transportation System , is a spacecraft operated by NASA for orbital human spaceflight missions. It began operations in the 1980s and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010 after 134 launches...
s. He was the president of the
Canadian Space AgencyThe Canadian Space Agency is the Canadian government space agency responsible for Canada's space program. It was established in March 1989 by the Canadian Space Agency Act and sanctioned in December 1990...
from 2001 to 2006, and in 2003 was installed as the ninth Chancellor of
Carleton UniversityCarleton University is an international, comprehensive university located in Canada's capital of Ottawa, Ontario. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines, including public affairs, journalism, film studies, engineering, high...
in
OttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada and a municipality within the Province of Ontario. Located in the Ottawa Valley in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, the city lies on the southern banks of the Ottawa River, a major waterway forming the local boundary between the Provinces of Ontario and...
.
In 2006, Garneau entered politics, seeking a seat as federal Member of Parliament with the
Liberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is a major political party in Canada. The party sits between the centre-left and centre of the Canadian political spectrum. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in the Parliament of Canada since the 2006 federal election...
. He was an unsuccessful candidate in
Vaudreuil-SoulangesVaudreuil-Soulanges is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. From 1914 to 1968 a similarly-defined electoral district existed under the slightly different designation Vaudreuil—Soulanges.It consists of the...
during
that year's electionThe 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
, but two years later won the riding of
Westmount—Ville-MarieWestmount—Ville-Marie is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997...
in downtown
MontrealMontreal is the second-largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. Originally called Ville-Marie , the city takes its present name from Mont-Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, whose name was also initially given to the island on which the...
.
Early life and career
Garneau was born in
Quebec CityQuébec , is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in the province – after Montreal, about to the southwest...
and was educated there and in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, England. He gained a degree in engineering physics at the
Royal Military College of CanadaThe Royal Military College of Canada , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers. Located on Point Frederick, a 41-hectare peninsula in Kingston, Ontario, the college is a blend of...
in 1970 and a doctorate in Electrical Engineering from
Imperial College of Science and TechnologyImperial College London is a British university in London specialising in science, engineering, medicine and business....
in 1973.
He joined the
Canadian Forces Maritime CommandCanadian Forces Maritime Command , also known as the Canadian Navy, is the maritime force of the Canadian Forces. While equal in rank and position, The Chief of the Maritime Staff takes precedence over the Chiefs of the Land and Air Staffs following the tradition of the Royal Navy.MARCOM is the...
(MARCOM, the Canadian Navy) in 1974 to work as an engineer. He first served as a systems engineer aboard until 1976. From there he went as an instructor to the Canadian Forces Fleet School in Halifax,
Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is a Canadian province located on Canada's southeastern coast. It is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. Its capital, Halifax, is a major economic centre of the region. Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of...
. He worked with the Naval Engineering Unit and in 1982 he was promoted to
CommanderCommander is a military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service...
.
Astronaut and Space Agency career
He was Canada's first astronaut and he became the first Canadian in space in October of 1984. In 1984 he was seconded to the new Canadian Astronaut Program (CAP), one of seven chosen from over 4,000 applicants. He flew on the shuttle
ChallengerSpace Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia being the first. Its maiden flight was on April 4, 1983, and it completed nine missions before breaking apart 73 seconds after the launch of its tenth mission, STS-51-L on January 28, 1986, resulting...
,
STS-41-GSTS 41-G marked the 13th flight of a space shuttle and the sixth flight of Challenger. It conducted the second landing at Kennedy Space Center...
from October 5 to 13, 1984 as
payload specialistIn NASA vernacular, a Payload Specialist ' was an individual selected and trained by commercial or research organizations for flights of a specific payload on a Space Shuttle mission...
. 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-77STS-77 was a Space Shuttle Endeavour mission that launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on May 19, 1996.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter liftoff: 115,456 kg**Orbiter landing: 92,701 kg...
(May 19 to 29, 1996) and
STS-97STS-97 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour.-Crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter Liftoff: 120,742 kg**Orbiter Landing: 89,758 kg...
(to the
ISSThe International Space Station is an internationally developed research facility currently being assembled in Low Earth Orbit. On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled to be completed by 2011, with operations continuing until at least 2015...
, November 30 to December 11, 2000). He has logged almost 678 hours in space and is now retired as an astronaut.
In February 2001 he was appointed executive vice-president of the Canadian Space Agency, and became its president in November of the same year. In August 2003, Captain Garneau was made a Companion of the
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
, Canada's highest civilian honour. He is also honoured with a high school named after him,
Marc Garneau Collegiate InstituteMarc Garneau Collegiate Institute is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, under the TDSB, best known for being the host school of the TOPS program, a selective math and science enrichment program...
in Toronto and É.S.P. Marc-Garneau in
Trenton, OntarioTrenton is a community in Southern Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the main population centre in Quinte West....
. Captain Garneau is also the Honorary Captain of the
Royal Canadian Sea CadetsRoyal Canadian Sea Cadets is a Canadian national youth program sponsored by the Canadian Forces and the civilian Navy League of Canada. Administered by the Canadian Forces, the program is funded through the Department of National Defence with the civilian partner providing support in the local...
. In addition, n
o 599
Royal Canadian Air CadetsRoyal Canadian Air Cadets is a Canadian national youth program for persons aged 12 to 18. It is administered by the Canadian Forces and funded through the Department of National Defence with additional support from the civilian Air Cadet League of Canada...
squadron is named in his honour.
Political life
Garneau resigned from his employment with the Canadian Space Agency to run for the Liberal Party of Canada in the Canadian federal 2006 federal election as a
star candidateA star candidate refers to a high profile individual who has been recruited as a candidate by a political party. Star candidates have usually excelled in fields outside of politics such as academia, business, the media or journalism...
. He ran in Vaudreuil-Soulanges represented by
Meili FailleMeili Faille is a Canadian politician. She is a Bloc Québécois member of the Canadian House of Commons, being first elected in the 2004 election in the district of Vaudreuil-Soulanges. Prior to being elected, Faille was a consultant and project coordinator...
of the
Bloc QuébécoisThe Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada that defines itself as devoted to both the protection of Quebec's interests on a federal level as well as the promotion of its sovereignty...
. Garneau was dogged by the
sponsorship scandalThe sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship"or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...
, which dragged down most Liberal candidates in marginal Quebec ridings. He also made some controversial comments, arguing that Quebec separation should not be envisaged with the same haste as
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
's invasion by the United States. In addition, he suggested that he would like to return to space along with souverainist leaders
Gilles DuceppeGilles Duceppe, MP is a Quebec nationalist and social democratic politician in Canada. He is a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons and the leader of the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean Duceppe...
and
André BoisclairAndré Boisclair is a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and sovereigntist party in Quebec....
, arguing that they would probably become federalists, seeing the Earth without its artificial borders. This remark was ridiculed as political naivete by his Bloc opponents. In the end a stronger-than-expected
ConservativeThe Conservative Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Tories, is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. The party is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
candidate siphoned off many federalist votes and Garneau lost to Faille by 9,200 votes.
He remained active in politics, supporting Michael Ignatieff's bid to lead the Liberal Party. He hoped to be considered for the Liberal candidacy for the Outremont by-election in September 2007, but was obliged to withdraw after being told by
Stéphane DionStéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from...
that the riding was reserved for another candidate. Soon afterwards, he announced he would depart from political life, citing Stéphane Dion's ambivalence as a main factor in his decision.
However, following the resignation of Liberal deputy leader
Lucienne RobillardLucienne Robillard, PC is a Canadian politician and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. She sat in the Canadian House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Westmount—Ville-Marie in Montreal....
, Garneau was nominated as the candidate for the riding of
Westmount—Ville-MarieWestmount—Ville-Marie is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997...
. Garneau competed as candidate in a by-election called for September the 8th, 2008. Although the by-election was cancelled when a general election was called, Garneau went on to win the riding by over 9,000 votes in the
2008 federal electionThe 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
.
Honours and awards
He was appointed an Officer of the
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
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 was also awarded the
Canadian Forces DecorationThe Canadian Forces Decoration is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to the Governor General of Canada upon his or her appointment as viceroy, which includes the...
for 12 years of honourable service with the
Canadian ForcesThe Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
.
Books
- 4237 Dr. Adrian Preston & Peter Dennis (Edited) "Swords and Covenants" Rowman And Littlefield, London. Croom Helm. 1976.
- H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "Canada's RMC - A History of Royal Military College" Second Edition 1982
- H1877 R. Guy C. Smith (editor) "As You Were! Ex-Cadets Remember". In 2 Volumes. Volume I: 1876-1918. Volume II: 1919-1984. RMC
The Royal Military College of Canada , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers. Located on Point Frederick, a 41-hectare peninsula in Kingston, Ontario, the college is a blend of...
. Kingston, OntarioKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, where Lake Ontario runs into the St. Lawrence River and the Thousand Islands begin.Kingston is the county seat of Frontenac County...
. The R.M.C. Club of Canada. 1984
External links