Member of the House of Commons since 2008, former Minister Marc Garneau emotionally confirmed his departure from political life on Wednesday morning.
The former astronaut first made the announcement during a meeting of the Quebec caucus of the Liberal Party in Ottawa in the morning.
Mr. Garneau delivered a speech in the House at the end of the afternoon in which he thanked the officials, members of his party and of the opposing parties as well as his family, present in the stands for his last speech.
“My challenge for you is to find the best in you, and put aside anger and fake outrage. Criticize all you want, but do it with respect, and even with spirit. Make Canadians proud of this House and the people who are part of it,” he told MPs.
Dismissed from the Cabinet of Ministers by Justin Trudeau after the 2021 election, Mr. Garneau, now 74, was honored by the Prime Minister. He would have refused the offer to become ambassador in Paris.
“As a politician, he showed us that we could do great things while keeping both feet on the ground,” said Mr. Trudeau before going to greet him with a frank handshake.
Quebec elected officials from other parties remained on site to greet their colleague, including the conservative Pierre Paul-Hus, who said he was “fascinated” in his adolescence by the stratospheric journey of Marc Garneau.
- Listen to the interview with Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Quebec Lieutenant for the Liberal Party of Canada on QUB radio:
Originally from Quebec City, Marc Garneau was part of three space missions with NASA, from 1984 to 2000. He chaired the Canadian Space Agency from 2001 to 2006 before running for the Liberal Party of Canada in 2008. He was Minister of Transport then Minister of Foreign Affairs, before being dismissed from the cabinet by Justin Trudeau after the 2021 elections.
Several of his colleagues expressed their surprise at the decision of the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount.
“It’s a shock for me to learn this morning,” said the Minister of Agriculture, Marie-Claude Bibeau. “He is a man whom I admire a lot, obviously, with whom I sat in the cabinet. I will remember from him above all his great respect, his sincere listening. […] For me, it is a surprise,” she added.
Ministers Steven Guilbeault and Pablo Rodriguez both praised a “great man”.
“Marc is a colleague whom I first admired as a citizen when he was an astronaut. He went into space. He is a man who has accomplished great things,” boasted Mr. Guilbeault.
Mr. Garneau has drawn attention in the past month for his controversial positions on official languages reform, when he opposed his own government.