Space pioneer Garneau to run as Liberal in Montreal riding

Marc Garneau, the first Canadian astronaut in space, re-launched his career in federal politics Friday as the Liberal party's candidate in the Montreal-area riding of Westmount-Ville-Marie.

Liberal Leader Stphane Dion made the announcement in Montreal, introducing the former head of the Canadian Space Agency as a passionate Canadian whose credentials few can rival.

"Few Canadians have assembled a more impressive record of service to their country," Dion said in a statement released Friday. "Mr. Garneau's career attests to his passion for Canada and for Quebec."

Garneau said he was honoured by Dion's trust in his ability to help the Liberals "renew our relationship of confidence" with Quebec voters.

"I believe in the great Liberal values of this country, and I am here to make sure that I will defend and bring forward all of those values so that Canadians will stand behind us in the future," he said at a Montreal news conference, as Dion looked on and applauded.

It's an about-face for the former head of the Canadian Space Agency, who announced only two weeks ago that he would not run again for the party.

Garneau ran for the Liberals last year in Vaudreuil-Soulanges, but observers said hemade some rookie political mistakes and lost by about 10,000 votes to a Bloc candidate in the difficult Montreal-area riding.

One of the safest Liberal strongholds

His chances this time around are much different, as Westmount-Ville-Marie is considered to be one of the safest Liberal strongholds in Canada and Garneau is still considered to be a very popular candidate.

The riding's incumbent, former cabinet minister Lucienne Robillard, has decided not to seek re-election.

'The thing that really struck me was when Mr. Dion called and asked me to meet him.' Marc Garneau

The CBC's Nancy Woodsaidfrom Montreal that Dion was able to woo Garneau backinto the Liberal fold after inviting him to supper and outlining his vision for the party earlier this week.

"The thing that really struck me was when Mr. Dion called and asked me to meet him," Garneau said Friday. "This act of openness and leadership really touched me."

Garneau had previously alluded in reportsthat a primary reason for his decision to walk away from politics was over Dion's apparent reluctance to give him the chance to go after a riding he hada good chance of taking specifically the Westmount riding.

Liberal insiders said the issue wasn't that Dion was indifferent to Garneau, only that the Liberal leader was preoccupied with managing three Quebec byelections that ended in three crushing defeatslast month.

Garneau's change of heart is considered a ray of light at the end of a grim week for the party. On Tuesday, Dion criticized but ultimately had the difficult duty of swallowing the Conservative government's throne speech in order to avoid triggering a federal election.

Adding to the Liberals' woes were the recent resignations of the party's director-general of the Quebec wing as well as Dion's Quebec lieutenant, who quit just hours before the government unveiled the throne speech. Dion offered the vacant Quebec lieutenant post to two Montreal MPs, but both rejected it before Liberal Senator Cline Hervieux-Payette agreed to take it on.