A federal decision not to back a Canadian-built Mars rover could seriously harm the country's space industry, says the former president of the Canadian Space Agency.

"If the government is sending out signals they don’t support the space robotics industry, the industry will have to look elsewhere," Marc Garneau, the first Canadian astronaut in space, said Friday.

Garneau was responding to a CBC report that federal Industry Minister Maxime Bernier rejected a request from Canada's space industry to support a contract that would have allowed the companies to build the European Space Agency's Mars surface rover.

The Canadian companies had asked Ottawa to redirect $100 million over 10 years from the CSA's budget to allow them to develop the sophisticated robotics technology.

Bernier rejected the request, saying Ottawa hadn't yet made up its mind about Canada's future role in space.

Garneau resigned as space agency head last year to run, unsuccessfully, as a Liberal candidate in the last federal election. His CSA position remains vacant.

Garneau, who calls the Conservative government's Mars rover decision a "great pity," warns it could be an important opportunity for Canada to showcase its talent.

Canada is a world leader in space robotics and the U.S. is interested in Canadian expertise, says Garneau.

"They need that because robotics is going to play a big role in space exploration."

'Unique opportunity'

Building the rover would be a unique opportunity for the country to take on a visible role in the exploration of Mars, he says.

"Canada has a good reputation within NASA. You're a star while you're performing well. If you miss an opportunity, after a while you do tend to be forgotten.

"It's a real pity not able to come up with sufficient funds to allow this project to go forward."

An earlier example of Canadian engineering in space — the robotic Canadarm — is a great source of pride to Canadians and has garnered more than $1 billion in spinoff work for the company that designed it, he said.

The rover decision has the companies threatening to take their operations south of the border. Observers fear that could lead to a brain drain of Canadian designers and scientists similar to the one in the wake of the abrupt cancellation of the Avro Arrow fighter-interceptor program in 1959.