The University of Lethbridge expresses its condolences at the passing of honorary degree recipient Marc Garneau, the first Canadian in space, who died Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at the age of 76.
Garneau made Canadian history in 1984 when he joined a seven-person NASA crew that went into space. He would go on to log more than 700 hours in space on a total of three missions, notably manning the Canadarm robotic arm during the 1996 Space Shuttle Endeavor mission. From 2001-2005, Garneau was president of the Canadian Space Agency.
The University of Lethbridge granted Garneau an honorary doctor of science at its Spring 2001 Convocation ceremony.
Born in Quebec City, Garneau entered politics and was elected to the House of Commons in 2008, representing the Montreal riding of Westmount--Ville-Marie until 2015, and then the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce--Westmount. He served as the Liberal minister of foreign affairs and before that the minister of transport before retiring in 2023.
For more on Garneau's career, visit the Government of Canada web page. To view Garneau's ULethbridge convocation cittation, visit the Digital Library.
Contact:
Trevor Kenney | trevor.kenney@uleth.ca