MEXICO CITY: Canadian and Mexican officials held trade-focused meetings in Mexico City this week alongside one of Canada’s largest business delegations to Mexico in decades, as companies and industry groups seek to deepen commercial ties across North America. The visit is part of a Team Canada Trade Mission led by Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, running February 15 to 20 and combining government-level talks with business-to-business engagement.
The mission includes more than 370 delegates from over 240 organizations, bringing together exporters, investors, industry associations and other partners from across Canada. Core programming is scheduled in Mexico City from February 15 to 17, with sector-specific sessions in Guadalajara and Monterrey from February 18 to 20. Programming spans advanced manufacturing, agriculture and processed foods, clean technologies and clean energy, creative industries, and information and communications technologies.
Canada’s government says the mission builds on recent bilateral engagement and is designed to strengthen commercial ties and explore opportunities in Mexico’s market. Under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, tariff-free entry applies to most traded goods between Canada and Mexico, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership also provides market-access and investment provisions that many companies use for cross-border trade in the region.
Trade between the two countries has grown sharply since the start of continental free trade in the 1990s. Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Mexico has increased twelvefold since 1994, reaching more than $56 billion in 2024, according to Canadian government figures. Mexico is Canada’s third-largest single-country merchandise trading partner after the United States and China, while Canadian direct investment in Mexico totaled $46.3 billion in 2024.
Business delegation expands agenda
A parallel business mission is also underway, led by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the government-led delegation. The chamber said the parallel mission includes about three dozen Canadian business leaders from sectors such as mining, energy, agriculture, transportation, technology and life sciences, along with legal, consulting and financial services firms. Catherine Fortin LeFaivre, the chamber’s senior vice president for international policy and global partnerships, said the two countries have been connected through a major continental trade agreement for more than 30 years.
The chamber and CanCham Mexico, a Mexico City-based business group, said they will work to deepen bilateral engagement, including efforts aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and helping firms build practical trade expertise. Carla Bustillos, CanCham Mexico’s director general, said the groups want to strengthen bilateral ties and help businesses “turn dialogue into tangible results” by improving market navigation and building connections across sectors.
Canadian officials say the delegation will receive in-market briefings and sector site visits and will take part in networking sessions with Mexican business leaders and government representatives. The Trade Commissioner Service says pre-arranged business-to-business meetings are being offered to participating small and medium-sized enterprises operating within the mission’s targeted sectors, while other organizations are expected to contribute through partnerships, knowledge exchange and economic-development links.
CUSMA review team named
The trip comes as the three North American partners approach a scheduled review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. On February 16, Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed Janice Charette as Canada’s next chief trade negotiator to the United States. In a statement, Carney said Charette will act as a senior adviser to him and to LeBlanc on the upcoming CUSMA trade review and on strengthening trade and investment ties with the United States, working closely with Canada’s ambassador to Washington, Mark Wiseman.
CUSMA entered into force on July 1, 2020, for a 16-year term and includes a provision requiring a joint review beginning on its sixth anniversary, July 1, 2026. Canadian officials have framed the Mexico mission as part of a broader effort to reinforce North American competitiveness through sector collaboration, supply chains and long-term commercial partnerships. The delegation’s remaining programming in Guadalajara and Monterrey runs through February 20. – By Content Syndication Services.