Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney traveled to Mexico City on Thursday for talks with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, where the two leaders vowed closer coordination ahead of a scheduled review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was signed in 2020.

At a joint news conference, Sheinbaum stressed that the two countries were united by “mutual respect” and a shared commitment to work side by side despite the growing challenges with Washington.
“Mexico and Canada will continue walking together, with mutual respect and with a certainty that cooperation is the path to overcome any challenge,” she said.

Carney echoed that sentiment, describing North America as the “economic envy of the world” thanks to cross-border trade and cooperation. “I have full confidence, and so does the president [Sheinbaum], that we can find the adjustments needed to reinforce competition and competitiveness in our region,” he said.

Both leaders underlined that they were not competing against each other for Washington’s attention but were instead committed to moving forward as partners. “We will move forward together,” Carney declared.

Their show of unity comes as both Ottawa and Mexico City have faced increasingly aggressive moves from Trump. Canada has been hit with a 50 percent tariff on steel exports, while Mexico is facing a 25 percent tariff on pharmaceuticals and an additional 25 percent “fentanyl tariff,” targeting what Trump claims is the flow of illegal drugs across the southern border.

Beyond tariffs, Trump has also rattled both neighbors with inflammatory political gestures. He recently suggested that Canada should become America’s “51st state” and signed an executive order instructing U.S. agencies to refer to the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America.”

In Mexico, concerns of U.S. military intervention flared in August when Trump reportedly signed a secret order authorizing strikes on Mexican drug cartels. President Sheinbaum was quick to dismiss fears of escalation, stating firmly, “There will be no invasion of Mexico.”

Despite the turbulence with Washington, Sheinbaum and Carney emphasized the importance of their own growing trade partnership. Trade between Canada and Mexico reached $40.5 billion in 2024, while Canada’s trade with the United States dwarfed that figure at $924.4 billion.

Carney’s visit marked the first bilateral trip by a Canadian prime minister to Mexico in eight years. Canadian officials traveling with him described relations with Mexico as excellent but acknowledged that closer ties were needed.

As tensions with Trump continue to loom over North America, Sheinbaum and Carney’s message was clear: Mexico and Canada intend to face the challenges together, rather than apart.