Former foreign affairs minister Marc Garneau says Canada has lost its standing in the world under the tenure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he criticizes as an ill-prepared leader who prioritizes politics and makes big pronouncements without any follow-through.
91裸聊视频淚 believe Justin Trudeau has overestimated Canada91裸聊视频檚 impact abroad,91裸聊视频� Garneau writes in his autobiography, 91裸聊视频淎 Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream,91裸聊视频� which is scheduled to be released in October by Penguin Random House.
While much of the book is a trip down memory lane for Garneau91裸聊视频檚 pre-politics career in the military and as an astronaut, the final third is devoted to his time as a member of Parliament.
Garneau, now 75, was first elected in 2008 as the Liberal MP for the Montreal riding of Westmount-Ville Marie, a riding that later became Notre-Dame-de-Gr芒ce-Westmount after boundary changes in 2015.
He staged an unsuccessful run for the party leadership in 2013, ultimately withdrawing from the race and backing Trudeau, who would go on to win in a landslide victory.
After the Liberals came to power in 2015, Garneau served in Trudeau91裸聊视频檚 cabinet for six years, more than five of those as the minister of transport. He spent the final nine months as the minister of foreign affairs, until Trudeau dropped him from cabinet completely after the 2021 election.
In his book, Garneau acknowledges being blindsided by that decision 91裸聊视频� one he says Trudeau never explained.
He makes it clear that he and Trudeau had little in common outside of their 91裸聊视频淟iberal values,91裸聊视频� and that the two were not close.
Another thing he makes clear: Garneau thinks Trudeau did not value the importance of a foreign affairs minister, and isn91裸聊视频檛 very good at international relations.
91裸聊视频淯nfortunately Canada91裸聊视频檚 standing in the world has slipped, in part because our pronouncements are not always matched by a capacity to act or by actions that clearly demonstrate that we mean what we say,91裸聊视频� Garneau writes. 91裸聊视频淲e are losing credibility.91裸聊视频�
He describes Trudeau91裸聊视频檚 trips to China in 2016 and 2017, and to India in 2018, before his tenure as foreign minister, as 91裸聊视频渘ot successful.91裸聊视频�
The two China trips failed to kick-start free-trade talks with China, and Trudeau was criticized at the time for trying to bring non-trade issues to the table in talks with the Chinese government. That included pushing on human rights, which did not go over well in Beijing.
The India trip91裸聊视频檚 failures were well-documented, including the embarrassment of inadvertently offering a reception invitation to a man convicted of trying to assassinate an Indian cabinet minister in Canada in 1986.
91裸聊视频淲e were not properly prepared,91裸聊视频� Garneau said of the three foreign visits.
91裸聊视频淎t a fundamental level, we did not understand who we were meeting. We thought we could seduce and were surprised it didn91裸聊视频檛 turn out that way. Gone was the clear-eyed approach of a prime minister like Jean Chr茅tien, who always knew with whom he was dealing and who forged pragmatic alliances with world powers.91裸聊视频�
Garneau also criticizes Trudeau for delaying the release of new national strategies for dealing with China and expanding Canada91裸聊视频檚 relationship in the Indo-Pacific region.
The China strategy was delayed largely because Trudeau and his 91裸聊视频渆ntourage91裸聊视频� were hesitant to release anything on it while Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were still detained in China, he writes.
91裸聊视频淚 think that was a mistake, pure and simple.91裸聊视频�
Likewise, he says he could not get a new Indo-Pacific strategy in front of cabinet, and it wasn91裸聊视频檛 actually released until November 2022 91裸聊视频� a year after it was ready, and a year after Garneau had been moved out of the portfolio.
Garneau declined a request for an interview about the book.
Trudeau91裸聊视频檚 office has not responded to a request for comment on its contents.
The ex-astronaut is not the first former Trudeau cabinet minister to pen a memoir that lambastes the prime minister. In 2023, former finance minister Bill Morneau released his own memoir, which criticized Trudeau for making mostly unilateral decisions and putting politics ahead of policy.
Both of them describe a concentration of power in the Prime Minister91裸聊视频檚 Office that did not improve despite Trudeau91裸聊视频檚 promises to decentralize when he came into office in 2015.
Garneau writes that when he was in charge of transport, Trudeau didn91裸聊视频檛 seem to have much interest in the file at all. When he moved to foreign affairs, he hoped the prime minister would be more interested in seeking out his input on issues.
But, Garneau says, he did not.
He writes that Trudeau only called upon him once to offer advice, at a meeting with then-ambassador to China Dominic Barton, in a discussion about the ongoing plight of the two Michaels.
91裸聊视频淭he prime minister91裸聊视频檚 aloofness led me to conclude that he did not consider my advice useful enough to want to hear from me directly, relying instead on his staff,91裸聊视频� Garneau recounts.
91裸聊视频淚 found this disappointing to say the least. The expectation was that communication between him and me would be via the (Prime Minister91裸聊视频檚 Office), and so consequently I never knew what information, if any, reached him.91裸聊视频�
The Trudeau government, Garneau contends, is overall too reactive and ill-prepared.
91裸聊视频淚t is not sufficient to pay attention only when a concern arises, something this government has made a habit of,91裸聊视频� he writes.
Garneau says he found that the fact Canada had gone through so many different foreign affairs ministers undermined its credibility in the role and left an impression that Trudeau and Canada don91裸聊视频檛 value or prioritize the file.
Garneau was the fourth of five people who have headed up Canadian foreign policy over the 8 1/2 years Trudeau has been prime minister.
91裸聊视频淥ur allies could logically question whether Canada attached sufficient importance to this portfolio, and they did,91裸聊视频� Garneau writes.
During every one of his introductory calls with counterparts, he says he was told they hoped he91裸聊视频檇 last longer than his predecessors, something he describes as 91裸聊视频渁 not so subtle message.91裸聊视频�
It didn91裸聊视频檛 happen.
Garneau lasted just nine months, the shortest of any of the five.
Chrystia Freeland, the second to be named to the role, held the role for almost three years, and M茅lanie Joly, the current foreign affairs minister, is closing in on 33 months in the role.
St茅phane Dion was the first, holding the title for 18 months, and Fran莽ois-Philippe Champagne, who was the third minister of foreign affairs, was in place for 14 months.
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