Canada wants to deepen its economic ties with Mexico, but it has a condition: the Mexican government needs to show that security is a real priority.
That was the message from Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister responsible for trade, during the largest Canadian trade mission ever sent to Mexico. The six-day trip, running Feb. 15 to 20, brought more than 370 delegates and roughly 250 businesses to Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara.
“If we want investment and businesses to keep growing, they need to see the government working on priorities like security,” LeBlanc said during the mission’s opening events in Mexico City on Sunday.
The timing is no accident. The mission comes weeks after 10 employees of Vancouver-based Vizsla Silver Corp. were kidnapped from the company’s Panuco silver-gold project in Concordia, Sinaloa, on Jan. 23. Five of the workers were later found dead. The abduction, linked to a faction of the Sinaloa cartel, forced the company to suspend operations and sent its stock price tumbling more than 40%.
LeBlanc said Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police plans to double the number of officers working at the Canadian Embassy in Mexico this year. He pointed to existing intelligence-sharing between Canadian and Mexican security agencies as a positive sign, but made clear that more is needed.
“It is very important to continue the solid and reliable relationship that Canada and Mexico have between security agencies and military organizations,” he said.
Mexico’s Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, speaking after meeting with LeBlanc, confirmed that Canada has proposed folding security into a new bilateral action plan. That plan, which Ebrard said would be presented in the second half of 2026, will also cover critical minerals, port infrastructure, supply chains and opportunities for young workers in both countries.
Ebrard framed the initiative as separate from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, known as the USMCA or T-MEC. With the trade deal’s mandatory review looming this year and American officials floating the idea of scrapping the trilateral pact in favor of separate bilateral deals, both Canada and Mexico have reasons to strengthen their direct relationship.
“This meeting, and the dialogue, and everything we want to achieve with the action plan is for a reason,” Ebrard told reporters. He said bilateral merchandise trade between the two countries has grown twelvefold since the original NAFTA took effect in 1994, topping $56 billion in 2024.
The trade mission is part of a broader push by Prime Minister Mark Carney to diversify Canada’s trade beyond the United States. Mexico is already Canada’s third-largest single-country trading partner after the U.S. and China, and Canadian direct investment in Mexico reached $46.3 billion in 2024. More than 60 Canadian auto parts companies and nearly 140 Canadian mining firms operate in the country.
During the mission’s opening, the Canadian Business Council and Mexico’s Consejo Coordinador Empresarial signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate business cooperation. The five sectors targeted for growth include agriculture and food, advanced manufacturing, clean technology, information and communications technology, and creative industries.
Asked about the Vizsla Silver kidnappings, Ebrard said the topic did not come up during meetings with the Canadian delegation and insisted it would not damage the bilateral relationship. But security consultants say incidents like these weigh heavily on corporate investment committees and the insurers who cover operations in high-risk areas.
Mexico has been working to strengthen trade ties and position itself as a reliable partner for North American supply chains, even as persistent violence in states like Sinaloa, Guerrero and Michoacán complicates that pitch.
The Canada-Mexico Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, launched in September 2025 during a visit by Carney to Mexico City, provides the framework for the bilateral action plan now under development.
Canada-Mexico Trade: By the Numbers
- Bilateral merchandise trade topped $56 billion in 2024, a twelvefold increase since NAFTA took effect in 1994
- Canadian direct investment in Mexico totaled $46.3 billion in 2024
- More than 60 Canadian auto parts companies operate in Mexico
- Nearly 140 Canadian mining companies have operations in the country
- The February 2026 trade mission included 370-plus delegates and about 250 businesses
- Five priority sectors: agriculture, advanced manufacturing, clean tech, IT and communications, and creative industries