The arc of Marc Garneau’s memoir takes us from stratospheric heights to the most human of lows. The subtitle of this life story from Canada’s first astronaut and former Liberal cabinet minister is “Space, Politics, and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream” and that’s the journey he takes the reader on, though his triumphs and the highs, but also the mistakes, missteps, and the lows.
“It was July 20, 1969, and I was sitting in the cockpit of a sailboat somewhere off the coast of England, gazing intently at the Moon. // The boat, called the Pickle, of all things, and its crew of thirteen had just raced across the Atlantic Ocean from Newport, Rhode Island, to Cork, Ireland, and was on its way to London. Our navigator had the radio on, and we were listening, spellbound, as Neil Armstrong announced to the world, ‘The Eagle has landed.’ … For the first time ever, humans were walking on another celestial body.”
An arresting opening, presaging much.
That July night, Garneau was in the Royal Canadian Navy, where he’d enlisted after high school, working his way up through engineering degrees, ranks, and postings. He married Jacqueline Brown and they had twins, Yves and Simone.
Then, in 1983, now at the National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, he saw an ad for the “Canadian Astronaut Program,” seeking applications. It was two years after the launch of the space shuttle Columbia, which he’d watched with fascination.
He was accepted into the first group of six astronauts, and intense and gruelling training followed, as he awaited a seat on a space expedition. Ultimately he would have three flights, each indelible. “While every part of me knew I was in space, it wasn’t until I saw Earth from the window with my own two eyes that it truly sank in. I wasn’t looking at a picture. I wasn’t imagining it. I was floating high above Earth, looking down at my planet, a moment seared forever in my mind.”
He has a knack for inserting technical knowledge with immediate human experiences. For example, he explains how the angles of the shuttle and ISS rotations frame what he sees of Earth, while never losing his wonder, even giddiness, of the view.

And then he runs for federal office, for the Liberals, just as they hit their post-Paul Martin nadir, while riding the headwinds of Quebec nationalism. When the Justin Trudeau-led party defeats Steven Harpers’ PCs, he’s appointed to the Ministry of Transport and then Foreign Affairs.
He does a nice job of balancing the personal with the informative – you could actually come away from this memoir with a decent TO Do List for starting off as a Federal Cabinet Minister, as he explains how a department, and a caucus, and a cabinet functions. How often the Prime Minister phoned just to check in (twice). How team building is essential. How to orient yourself within a portfolio.
“Most of the time, the public pays little attention to what goes on in the world of transportation until it affects them directly, such as delays at the airport, noisy trains near their home, or the closure of a major road. The exception is when an accident occurs.”
Such as at Lac Magantic, on July 6, 2013 when a train loaded with crude oil derailed, exploded, and killed forty-seven people. Or the devastating bus crash of the Humboldt Broncos junioey team. The Boeing 737 air crashes. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, shot out of the sky after it lifted off from Tehran. He learned to reach out to bereaved families quickly.  Every accident needed assessment, action. How much rest do pilots require? What items should be banned from flights? “When it comes to safety, there will never be a quiet moment when nothing is happening.”And injuries to wildlife was a factor too, for example with new regulations to protect right whales. And then came the COVID 19 pandemic.
He later moved to Foreign Affairs, attending international conferences (even as COVID 19 protocols dictate mandatory isolation), meeting an international who’s who of leaders, ministers, and ambassadors. As he just resigned last year this is quite current. There are a couple of blips, for example Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff pop in and out quite swiftly – granted their time on the national political scene wasn’t lasting. But overall the recounting here and throughout the book is engagingly thorough.
He also shares moments when his trajectory could have been completely different, such as a shooting accident with a childhood friend (not his fault) to an arrest for robbery as a teenager (absolutely his drunken fault), either of which could have derailed his goals and dreams. His message: don’t give up. Even after one or two or three mistakes, keep going. And enjoy the ride.
A Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics, and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream is published by Signa; Books/McClelland & Stewart (320 Pages, $40.00).