Longtime Liberal MP Marc Garneau resigning, calls on colleagues to 'put away the anger'
Longtime Liberal MP Marc Garneau resigning, calls on colleagues to 'put away the anger'
Longtime politician and former astronaut Marc Garneau has announced he is resigning his seat in the House of Commons.
The Quebec Liberal MP revealed his resignation Wednesday morning to his Quebec caucus colleagues, before telling the full Liberal caucus.
Speaking in the chamber for the final time, Garneau said it has been an honour to serve the country. He has been a member of Parliament for more than 14 years, including seven years in government.
“I consider myself to have been extraordinarily privileged to have worked in the Parliament of Canada, to have served my fellow citizens, Montreal residents, Quebecers and Canadians as best I could,” he said.
Garneau said he promised his family last fall that he would leave politics after tabling the final report from a committee he chaired, on medical assistance in dying. That report, which Garneau called a task of great importance to him, was tabled in mid-February.
“Nothing is perfect but I like to think that I always did my best to make it better and although my gaze will remain on the future, as it always has, I hope that you the young people of this country, will fashion that future and protect our democracy,” Garneau said.
On Parliament Hill, Garneau’s colleagues spoke of Garneau as an inspiration and a politician with great integrity.
Health Minister Jean Yves Duclos called the news a “shock,” while Industry Minister Francois Philippe Champagne described Garneau as a man of integrity who always followed his convictions and was always available.
“He’s an inspiring figure for those of us who came in 2015. He is a man who inspires respect and he is a man who inspires achievement,” Champagne said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, who described Garneau as a friend, called him “a really good man,” while reflecting on his life of service.
“When thinking about Marc Garneau, we think about a man who has always served Canadians. Not only is he a great Canadian, but he was one of the first to inspire us by going to space, but also taking risks.”
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault said he's known and admired Garneau long before he entered politics.
"He has a long and accomplished career of public service for Canada and Canadians, and I'll be eternally grateful for everything he's done for all of us," Guilbeault said.
Garneau was selected as an astronaut in 1983, after serving in the navy. In 1984, he became the first Canadian astronaut to fly in space on Shuttle Mission 41-G.
In 2008, he was elected a member of Parliament, later taking on positions in cabinet including as transport minister in 2015 and then minister of foreign affairs. He was shuffled out that role, and out of Trudeau’s cabinet following the 2021 federal election.
The former Liberal leadership contender currently represents Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount, Que.
In his farewell remarks, Garneau said Wednesday’s speech would be his “final speech” in the House of Commons.
“My challenge to you is to find your better angels, and to put away the anger and false indignation. Criticize by all means, but do it with respect and maybe even wit. Make Canadians proud of this House and the people in it,” he told his colleagues.
Following his farewell speech, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and MPs from other parties rose to wish him well and shake his hand.
With files from CTV News’ Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello
U.S President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced updates on a number of cross-border issues, after a day of meetings on Parliament Hill.
More than 130,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on Canada to give transgender and non-binary people fleeing harmful laws in their home countries the right to claim asylum, but that's already possible in this country. Advocates say the popularity of the proposal shows politicians that Canadians want the government to affirm its welcoming position.
The Public Order Emergency Commission has concluded that the federal government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests and blockades.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem says he thinks Canada is 'turning the corner' on inflation, but he isn't ruling out that the country could enter a 'mild recession.' In an English-language broadcast exclusive interview with CTV National News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier, Macklem encouraged Canadians to prepare a 'buffer' to withstand 'tougher times.'
Joe Biden comes for a sleepover next week to make Canada the 18th country he has visited since being sworn in as U.S. president, quite the protocol slippage from that fading, if not forgotten, tradition of Canada being the first foreign presidential pitstop, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
After weeks of refusing to look further into foreign election interference, Justin Trudeau surrendered to intense pressure and appointed a 'special rapporteur' to review China's actions. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin writes this 'startling change of heart' suggests the PMO is in panic mode and reflects badly on the prime minister's decision making.
The Trudeau tipping point is within sight. The moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows he has to quit for the good of the party or the Liberals realize they can't survive re-election with him at the helm is almost upon us, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Bombshell revelations that suggest Chinese agents actively, fraudulently and successfully manipulated Canada's electoral integrity in the last two federal elections cannot be dismissed with the standard Justin Trudeau nothing-to-see-here shrug, Don Martin writes in his exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
The chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while carrying out an arrest in the town of Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is set to table a federal budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, which a federal source says will include plans to go after predatory lending and more details on dental care as part of a pitch to make life more affordable.
Walmart Canada is not trying to profit from food inflation, president and CEO Gonzalo Gebara told a parliamentary committee studying the issue Monday evening.
The former student who shot through the doors of a Christian elementary school in Nashville and killed three children and three adults had drawn a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, and conducted surveillance of the building before carrying out the massacre.
The Vancouver Park Board and Britannia Community Services Centre cancelled an event Sunday that had been advertised as part of an Indigenous concert series in Grandview Park.
Here is a summary of the current COVID-19 vaccination guidelines from NACI, for both children and adults who are at increased risk of serious illness and those who are not.
As artificial intelligence software and advanced computers revolutionize modern technology, some researchers see a future where computer programmers leap from silicon to organic molecules.
A warning for consumers to expect to pay more next month for three key items, a reminder about COVID-19 booster shots, and police reveal what they know about a deadly shooting at a Nashville school. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
Hockey Canada says players from the 2018 world junior hockey team will not be considered for international competition until an investigation into an alleged sexual assault involving members of the team is complete.
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while carrying out an arrest in the town of Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years.
Almost three years after a man disguised as a Mountie started murdering people in Portapique, N.S., on the night of April 18, 2020, the senior RCMP officers and staff involved in the tragic case have all either retired or moved into new jobs.
A forensic psychiatrist says a rise in violence on Toronto's transit system signals an urgent need to better support people struggling with homelessness, mental illness and addiction.
Family and friends of two police officers who were shot and killed while responding to a family dispute gathered in downtown Edmonton Monday to say goodbye to their loved ones.
The Calgary Fire Department says at least 10 people were injured in a 'sudden and devastating' explosion in the city's northeast on Monday that completely destroyed one home.
The Vancouver Park Board and Britannia Community Services Centre cancelled an event Sunday that had been advertised as part of an Indigenous concert series in Grandview Park.
A fire in a dormitory at a Mexican immigration detention centre near the U.S. border left more than three dozen migrants dead, a government agency said Tuesday, in one of the deadliest incidents ever at an immigration lockup in the country.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for his nuclear scientists to increase production of weapons-grade material to make bombs to put on his increasing range of weapons.
Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou began a 12-day tour of China with a symbolism-laden visit to the mausoleum where a founding figure revered in both China and Taiwan is entombed.
Israel's political factions opposed to embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began setting up negotiating teams Tuesday after he paused a controversial judicial overhaul plan that had set off unprecedented street protests and a spiralling domestic crisis.
Moscow test-fired anti-ship missiles in the Sea of Japan, Russia's Defence Ministry said Tuesday, with two boats launching a simulated missile attack on a mock enemy warship about 100 kilometres away.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that he intends to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus appears to be another attempt to raise the stakes in the conflict in Ukraine.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is set to table a federal budget in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, which a federal source says will include plans to go after predatory lending and more details on dental care as part of a pitch to make life more affordable.
The 2023 federal budget will include a one-time 'grocery rebate' for Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
Toronto MP Han Dong says he is taking legal action over a media report that alleged he spoke to a Chinese diplomat in February 2021 about delaying the release of two Canadians detained in China at the time.
Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. is moving away from its medical cannabis distribution business and preparing to transfer patients to a platform run by biopharmaceutical company Avicanna Inc.
A new study that looked at more than 300,000 patients found that a medical consultation prior to a routine surgery wasn’t connected to a better surgical outcome, suggesting these consultations might not be necessary.
In some U.S. states, proponents of gender-affirming care bans have argued for the last few years that minors are too young to make these medical decisions — but in 2023, legislative attempts to limit the health-care options for transgender youth have expanded to a new age group: adults.
As artificial intelligence software and advanced computers revolutionize modern technology, some researchers see a future where computer programmers leap from silicon to organic molecules.
Gwyneth Paltrow's attorneys are expected to call a series of experts and read depositions from her two teenage children on Tuesday in the first full day of the movie star's trial that they have to call witnesses to make their case.
Prince Harry returned to a London court Tuesday for a second day of hearings to see if the phone hacking lawsuit he brought with Elton John and other celebrities can withstand a challenge from the publisher of The Daily Mail.
A photographer whose work documents and celebrates the homoerotic is among the winners of this year's Governor General Awards in Visual and Media Arts.
Protests and strikes against unpopular pension reforms kicked off again Tuesday across France, with police security ramped up against feared violence and government warnings that radical demonstrators intend "to destroy, to injure and to kill."
U.S. futures are flat in light trading Tuesday as anxiety over the strength of the global banking sector, triggered by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, eased.
Title insurers need to be brought under anti-money laundering rules to fight against scam artists who impersonate homeowners to sell or mortgage their properties, a former insurance executive says.
It may seem improbable - even impossible to some - but each day for the last three years, a 71-year-old Toronto woman has laced up her shoes, put one foot in front of the other, and headed out for a run
If you're feeling alone or dissatisfied, a new research suggests that watching live sports in person may help you to improve your level of well-being and reduce that feeling of loneliness.
Some 200 protesters gathered beneath Rio de Janeiro's world-famous Sugarloaf Mountain to protest the ongoing construction of ziplines aimed at boosting tourism, alleging it will cause unacceptable impacts.
Tereza Vanisova scored 4:23 into overtime, and the Premier Hockey Federation's Isobel Cup is heading to Canada for the first time in its eight-year history following the Toronto Six's 4-3 win over the Minnesota Whitecaps on Sunday night.
If you're feeling alone or dissatisfied, a new research suggests that watching live sports in person may help you to improve your level of well-being and reduce that feeling of loneliness.
Cristiano Ronaldo is feeling at home again. It took only two games for him to make his peace with Portugal's national team and show he is not done impressing at the international level just yet.
A federal lawsuit filed Monday by the city of St. Louis accuses automakers Kia and Hyundai of failing to install industry-standard anti-theft technology, resulting in thousands of vehicle thefts in the Missouri city.
About two-thirds of people with disabilities encountered barriers on federally regulated planes and trains in 2019 and 2020, highlighting a lack of consultation and enforcement by agencies involved, the federal auditor general says in a new report.
