First Canadian to fly into space left this earth earlier this week

By Pepper Parr

June 7^th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

I was meeting with people at the National Research Council (NRC) who were responsible for selecting candidates for the Canadian Space Program.

Canada had been a part of the space program from the very beginning.  Our contribution was the Canada-arm.

The selection of Marc Garneau as the first Canadian who would fly into space had already been made.  He was introduced as Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau, an officer with the Royal Canadian Navy.

The NRC was looking for a way to promote and tell the story of the space program and Marc Garneau as the first Canadian who would fly into space..  The organization I was running came up with the idea of publishing a book.  The NRC liked the idea and while they didn’t provide any financial support, they gave us access to anyone we wanted to talk to.

We decided in a tabloid format: 11 x 17 inches. Priced at $3.49

We decided to tell the story of the space program and what it meant to put people in an aircraft and blast them into space using a lot of graphics and pictures.  We wanted big pages, not something that would be a standard book size.

We went with what is called a tabloid format.

It resulted in an award-winning publication that book stores said they couldn’t sell – it was too big – didn’t fit on their bookshelves.

We pivoted and found a way to sell the book in supermarkets.

They were at first reluctant but we found a vice president at what was then Dominion stores who liked the idea and they decided they would take 5000 copies.

Our printer was very positive and asked us to look at the project as a joint venture that made them partners. The initial press run was 25,000 copies.

We couldn’t get them into the supermarkets fast enough.  We were loading cartons of the book into the back of a Volkswagen Beetle and making two, sometimes three, trips to their warehouse each day.

The trip into space took place. We were basically sold out.

The supermarkets suggested a second edition that told the story from Garneau’s perspective.  That edition had a 35,000 copy press run.

We wanted space to illustrate what it meant to put an aircraft into space. There were pages that allowed readers to interact and write what they thought space was all about.

We got to know Marc much better when we were putting the second edition out.

Marc was a quiet man; celebrity status was new to him.  Celebrity as a concept was new – movie stars were celebrities, sports winners were celebrities.

The selection of the first Canadian who would be in space involved an interview on what it meant to be a hero.  The interview that was filmed wasn’t made public but we were learn to more about Marc during our several conversations with him

Being selected as an astronaut as part of the 1983 NRC Group. He became the first Canadian in space on October 5, 1984, and flew on three Space Shuttle missions.

The public attention took a toll on Marc’s personal life; it also gave him a profile that made him an obvious choice as a candidate for public office.

Marc won a seat in the House of Commons and served as the Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Leaving politics was a bumpy process.  He was dropped from Cabinet and resigned from the House of Commons.  He gave his farewell speech to the House on the same day he announced his political life had come to an end.

Marc Garneau suited up and ready to fly into space.

The last time I met with Marc Garneau was when he was in Burlington meeting with local Liberals.

Ray Rivers was at the event as well.  When Garneau left and moved on to his next event, Rivers and I sat down for a cup of coffee.  The chemistry was good and Rivers began writing Opinion pieces for the Gazette.  He has been doing that for more than eight years.

Marc Garneau was a strong personality.  He didn’t take to the Justin Trudeau approach to leadership.  He had the discipline of a naval officer and the experience of three missions into space.

We lost a good one earlier this week.

Related news story:

Marc Garneau in Burlington looks for leadership support