Medellin, Colombia — The Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney met with his counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City on Thursday to announce a new partnership aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries, which share a common neighbor and trade partner, the United States.
“Canada and Mexico are entering a new era of co-operation. We are elevating our partnerships in trade, investment, energy, and security to create more opportunity for Canadian workers, expanded markets for Canadian businesses, and more certainty for Canadian investors, while making North America the most competitive and dynamic economic region in the world,” said Prime Minister Carney.
Under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, both sides announced a commitment to advancing major infrastructure projects, including port upgrades to cross-border energy links; aligning with Carney’s promise to Canadians to increase the pace to infrastructure development, by streamlining the regulatory approval process and coordinating financing.
Canada and Mexico also pledged to launch a new security dialogue aimed at tackling transnational organized crime, including drug and human trafficking, money laundering, and cyber threats.
As expected, trade and investment will remain a central focus as both countries work to strengthen their economic initiatives spanning agricultural, energy, and a continued push to target the protection of wildlife and freshwater systems.
Going into the meeting, President Sheinbaum said short-term work visas and expanding ocean trade routes between Canada and Mexico topped her agenda.
In 2023, Canada welcomed over 24,000 Mexican nationals through the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, making Mexico the largest source of seasonal farm workers in the country. However, the Mexican President wants to see more opportunities expanded for her citizens via the short-term work visa program.
She also stressed that Canadian mining companies must do better in complying with Mexico’s environmental regulations.
The meeting comes as both leaders work to navigate global trade challenges driven by Trump’s tariff agenda and ahead of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), commonly referred to as the “Three Amigos”, which is facing review in July of next year.
Both countries confirmed that they remain committed to strengthening their trilateral deal. Carney said North America is the ‘economic envy of the world’ partly due to cooperation between Canada, Mexico and the US.
Mexico and Canada rank as the United States’ first and second largest trading partners, while the U.S. remains the top trading partner for both countries.
“We’ll move forward together, without questions,” said Canada’s leader, who became the country’s 24th Prime Minister in March 2025, amid an ongoing trade war with US President Donald Trump at the time.
Featured image:
Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney met with his counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City on September 18, 2025.
Image source: @GobiernoMX via X.
