Marc Garneau on life as an astronaut, politics and his new autobiography

Only a few dozen people on earth have “astronaut” on their resume, but Marc Garneau says there’s nothing inherent in being an astronaut that prepared him for politics.

“I think we need more, not necessarily astronauts, but engineers in politics because we tend to think based on logic and we operate within the laws of physics,” Garneau, a former Liberal cabinet minister, said in an interview with CTV News.

Garneau stepped away from politics in 2023 and is now promoting his biography, A Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream.

Garneau came into political life with a perspective only astronauts have by staring at earth from a space shuttle.

“This is our only option, our only home,” he says.

“You start to think about, look, isn’t there a way that we can find a way to get along with each other? Because this is where we’re going to be for a very, very long time,” said Garneau, whose role in the Trudeau cabinet included a stint as foreign affairs minister.

• Watch the full interview in the video player above

Garneau is in Calgary for a Wordfest event Nov. 19 at the Memorial Park Library.