Marc Garneau Criticizes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in New Memoir

Former Canadian foreign affairs minister, Marc Garneau, has issued a scathing critique of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his forthcoming autobiography, “A Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream,” scheduled for release in October by Penguin Random House. In his book, Garneau argues that Canada’s international standing has diminished under Trudeau’s leadership, attributing this decline to the Prime Minister’s perceived lack of preparation and political opportunism.

While Garneau’s memoir predominantly revisits his pre-political career in the military and as an astronaut, the final chapters focus on his tenure as a member of Parliament.

Garneau, 75, was first elected in 2008 as the Liberal MP for the Montreal riding of Westmount-Ville Marie, which later became Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Westmount after boundary changes in 2015. Despite an unsuccessful bid for party leadership in 2013, Garneau supported Trudeau, who ultimately secured a landslide victory.

Garneau served in Trudeau’s cabinet for six years, mostly as the minister of transport, and spent the last nine months as the minister of foreign affairs before being dropped from the cabinet post-2021 election—a decision that he describes as unexpected and unexplained. He portrays a distant relationship with Trudeau, asserting they shared little beyond “Liberal values” and criticizing Trudeau’s approach to foreign affairs.

In his memoir, Garneau accuses Trudeau of overestimating Canada’s global impact and failing to match rhetoric with action. He highlights several failed international trips, notably Trudeau’s visits to China in 2016 and 2017, and to India in 2018, which he describes as poorly executed and diplomatically unsuccessful.

• China Trips: Garneau points out that these visits did not advance free-trade talks, as Trudeau’s emphasis on human rights issues was poorly received in Beijing.
• India Trip: The trip is infamously remembered for the blunder of inviting a convicted attempted assassin to a reception, which Garneau attributes to inadequate preparation and understanding.

Garneau also criticizes Trudeau for delaying critical national strategies concerning China and the Indo-Pacific region. He contends that the hesitation to release a China strategy during the detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor was a significant error, and he expresses frustration over the delayed approval of the Indo-Pacific strategy, which was only released in November 2022—long after it was prepared and post-Garneau’s tenure.

Garneau’s discontent mirrors sentiments from other former cabinet members, such as ex-finance minister Bill Morneau, who in 2023, published a memoir criticizing Trudeau’s centralization of power and prioritization of politics over policy. Both memoirs paint a picture of a Prime Minister’s Office heavily concentrated in power despite initial promises of decentralization.

Garneau recounts limited interaction with Trudeau during his time in transport and foreign affairs, noting a particular instance where his input was sought only once in a discussion with the then-ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, regarding the two Michaels.

As of now, Trudeau’s office has not responded to requests for comments on Garneau’s assertions. Garneau, meanwhile, has declined interviews about his autobiography.