A major Mexican trade mission to Canada launched Thursday, involving over 200 Mexican businesses, looking to expand commercial links during the two-day, two-city encounter that will include high-level talks on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
The mission launched in Toronto and will then move to Montreal. It is one of the largest that Mexico has ever sent to Canada, though it’s a truncated version of the trip which was originally announced as a three-day tour with a stop including Vancouver.
“The Canada-Mexico relationship is bonded by common values, by economic ambitions that have generated very considerable prosperity for both our countries over decades,” said Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, during the kickoff speech.
“We can make North America the most competive, dynamic and resilient region in the world.”
Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard said Mexico wanted to forge closer ties with Canada, not just in the short term, but over the coming decades.
“We know the world is changing in many ways, geopolitically, technologically, the way the economy works now in the world,” said Ebrard.
“So we need to be near friends, near institutions, near countries which have similar values.”
Over 240 Mexican businesses are signed up and over 1,000 business-to-business meetings already planned, according to Mexico’s Secretariat of Economy. The trip comes as both Canada and Mexico look to diversify their trade — both with each other and others — and rely less on the U.S., amid tariff chaos and general global uncertainty.
“It’s evident that there’s so much opportunity for Mexico and Canada to collaborate,” said Fernando Vargas, CEO of Bloom White Label Partners, a digital services company based in Aguascalientes.
“We are time zone-aligned, we are in North America and we’re hosting a World Cup together.”
Vargas said his startup currently conducts between 30 to 40 per cent of its business in Canada, and he is hoping the trade mission will lay the foundation for further expansion.
“It’s in everyone’s interest to be present elsewhere, and both countries are very interested in working with each other,” he said.
“I think that should continue; that should increase.”
LeBlanc said he met with Ebrard over dinner Wednesday and “compared notes on some of the challenges” the two economies are facing. The two are also expected to discuss the pending CUSMA review Thursday, but the meeting is not designated as an official negotiating session.
Ebrard also plans to meet with the CEOs of Air Canada, Bombardier, CN Rail and TC Energy, among others. Mexico’s top trade official is also slated to host a meeting between Mexican businesses and Canadian investment funds, including the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, one of the largest in the world.
“This is an unprecedented working visit aimed at…
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