Canadian-Mexican Relations

Historically, the countries have had rather cool relations, but in recent years they have changed significantly for the better after signing the agreement on the North American free trade zone . Both countries were allies in World War II . Canada was a member of NATO during the Cold War, and Mexico joined the Non-Aligned Movement . Both countries are members of the G20 , the Organization of American States , the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development , as well as the United Nations ^[1] .

In November 2012, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto visited Ottawa as President-elect before taking the oath. In an interview for the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail, Peña Nieto described the relations of the countries until 1994 as “mutual non-interference” and positively noted the increase in trade between the two countries since the signing of the agreement on the North American free trade zone. He called for an increase in Canadian foreign direct investment in the Mexican economy (especially in the oil industry), but noted that Pemex (the state-owned oil company) will remain the owner of the resources. Peña Nieto called “North American Energy Security” the “common goal” of both countries. He promised to make efforts to reduce the violence associated with drug trafficking in the country and create more decent conditions for tourist visits by Canadians. Peña Nieto also asked Canadians to introduce a visa-free regime for Mexican citizens ^{[2] [3]} .

The unification of Canada and Mexico into the NAFTA free trade zone (finally, most customs duties were lifted from January 1, 2008) led to a significant increase in Canadian-American trade. Mexico's exports to Canada in 1993-2013 increased from $ 3.3 billion to $ 25.5 billion ^[4] . At the same time, Canada remains a market for Mexican goods, although Canadian deliveries to Mexico also increased in 1993-2013 (from $ 0.8 billion to $ 5.4 billion) ^[4] . In 2012, Canada became the fifth Mexican export country after the United States, China, Britain and Japan, and the third largest source of imports after the United States and China. In 2014, the volume of bilateral trade between the countries amounted to $ 20 billion. Canadian international companies such as: Bombardier , BlackBerry , Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and Scotiabank have branches in Mexico. At the same time, Mexican international companies (eg Grupo Bimbo ) are present in Canada ^[5] .

Although NAFTA allowed Mexico to maintain customs duties on certain agricultural products (eggs, sugar, flour), already in 1993-2003, Mexican food supplies to Canada increased significantly - from $ 136 million to $ 409 million ^[6] .