President Claudia Sheinbaum continued her seemingly nonstop efforts to shore up trade relations Tuesday by hosting Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Finance and Revenue Minister François-Philippe Champagne at the National Palace. 

Canada and Mexico, which share a free-trade agreement (USMCA) with the United States, have been making moves to strengthen their strategic partnership as trade relations falter between the U.S. and its North American allies.

During their two-day visit to Mexico City August 5-6, Anand and Champagne attended meetings with Sheinbaum and their respective Mexican cabinet counterparts, aiming to advance shared priorities such as economic growth, regional security and bilateral trade.

“We strengthened the relationship between our countries,” Sheinbaum wrote in a post to X, which included several photographs of the meeting.

On July 16, President Sheinbaum held a phone conversation with the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in which the two agreed to strengthen trade collaboration.  

“We both agreed that the [USMCA] trade agreement needed to be respected,” Sheinbaum said in her daily press conference following that call. 

The president also said that Carney planned to visit Mexico in an official capacity. Although the date has not been set, the visit by Anand and Champagne lays the groundwork for Carney’s trip.

“It was a pleasure to receive Min. Anita Anand and Min. François-Philippe Champagne at the Embassy of Canada in Mexico.

It was a great opportunity to socialize, answer questions, acknowledge the work of our employees, and talk about the relationship between Canada and Mexico”. https://t.co/1CfA7eHq5G

— Canada in Mexico (@CanEmbMexico) August 6, 2025

Anand and Champagne planned to meet with a representative group of Canadian and Mexican business leaders, including key players in the integrated North American economy, trade infrastructure and supply chains. Anand will also participate in a joint session of the North American Committee and the Mexican Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, aimed at strengthening parliamentary relations between the two countries.

“Canada and Mexico are close partners that are united by decades of diplomatic, economic and security cooperation,” Anand wrote on X after meeting with Sheinbaum on Tuesday. “…Discussions with the President and members of her government advanced key shared priorities in terms of economic growth, security and trade diversification.” 

As Mexico and Canada work to deepen their ties, the two countries have faced strained trade relations with the United States in recent months, following the imposition of tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump. 

With reports from Sin Embargo, El Economista and Reuters