Canada and Mexico need to collaborate: experts

The relationship between Canada and Mexico has long been the weak link in North America’s trilateral triangle, and foreign policy experts say reinforcing it will be key if the continent is to realize its true economic potential.

Canadian Sen. Peter Boehm, a former deputy minister and diplomat, was among several officials from all three countries who took part on Jan. 20 in an online panel assessing the effectiveness of last week’s North American Leaders’ Summit in Mexico City.

“The relationship is essentially characterized, in my view, by an isosceles triangle,” Boehm told the panel, hosted by the Americas Society and the Council of the Americas.

The two longer, equal sides represent the more prominent, long-standing ties the United States has with its two closest neighbours, he said.

“And then that very short one is the Mexico-Canada relationship, which I think has to grow. And it can grow in a number of ways.”

The summit showcased several areas where that is already happening, said Louise Blais, a retired Canadian envoy who now serves as a senior adviser to the Business Council of Canada and as diplomat-in-residence at Laval University in Quebec.

Blais, who was at the summit, said Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador surprised the Canadian delegation by echoing the sentiment that all three countries would be stronger if they were better able to function as a single unit.

His position on that front was “not something that had been really made clear, especially not to the Mexican business community,” Blais said. “We’re really getting from him a sense that he believes in this.”

Lopez Obrador — whose strategy of preferring Mexican energy suppliers was expected to be a sticking point in the meetings — also signalled a willingness to discuss the question further, she added.

“I mean, let’s not be naive, but there is a sense that maybe there is hope that we can resolve this.”

Canada could also be taking a more active role in working with Mexico to protect against some of the threats to democracy that exist in Latin American countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, Boehm added.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s last day in Mexico City was dedicated entirely to reinforcing ties with Mexico, beginning with a speech to business leaders that portrayed Canada as a free-trade champion and a wise place to invest.

Already, foreign direct investment in Canada in the last year has fuelled the growth of electric vehicle manufacturing and critical minerals development that has created some 17,000 jobs, Trudeau told his audience.

Trade between Canada and Mexico has increased nine-fold since 1993, while Canada was second only to Spain last year on the list of the largest sources of foreign investment in Mexico, he added.

“We are a reliable partner, with an abundance of talent, a very attractive investment climate, and a great quality of life,” Trudeau said.