Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday the Canadian government invited her to come to Alberta for next month’s G7 leaders’ summit but she hasn’t yet decided whether she will go.
She told reporters at a news conference that she’s also not sure if she would meet with Trump if she does decide to attend.
The hesitation is notable because Canada-Mexico relations have been at something of a low point in recent months as both countries grapple with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and economic threats — a trade dispute that has prompted some back-biting between the two American neighbours as Ontario Premier Doug Ford calls for Canada to go it alone with the U.S. on trade.
As the host country for this year’s summit of some of the world’s most powerful leaders, Canada can invite others to come and take part in the discussions.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has signalled he may use the face time with Trump at the meeting in Kananaskis to discuss tariffs — a conversation that could, in theory, include Sheinbaum if she attends. That would be the first three-way meeting between the leaders.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Mexico’s economy minister, Marcelo Ebrar, said he expects a separate, planned review of the trilateral Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which is officially slated to start in 2026, to begin earlier than planned — in the fourth quarter of this year.
“The formal start is expected at the end of September, the first week of October, for evaluation,” Ebrard told Mexican journalists on the sidelines of a banking event.
Carney has been more cautious, saying he wants to make progress on bilateral issues with the U.S. before talks take place on CUSMA.
Prime Minister Carney said in an interview with Power & Politics Tuesday that the Oval Office meeting earlier this month helped to ‘re-establish sovereign-to-sovereign dialogue.’
Since Carney’s visit to Washington early this month, Canadian officials have been holding talks with their U.S. counterparts to try and get the Trump tariffs lifted.
The president is pursuing a three-pronged approach with border-related levies to supposedly prompt Canada and Mexico to crack down on drugs and migrants, tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos to bolster U.S. production and so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on goods coming from other, non-CUSMA countries to raise revenue and reshore manufacturing.
Carney and his officials are trying to convince the Americans that the border tariffs in particular are bogus because Canada is not a major source of fentanyl, especially compared to what’s coming from Mexico.
Carney has also made the case that the U.S. auto sector depends on parts from north of the border, and needs input from this country to effectively compete with Asian manufacturers.
In an interview with CBC’s Power & Politics on Tuesday, Carney said Canada wants tariff relief before it revists CUSMA — and he reiterated the review isn’t scheduled until next year, even if the Mexicans say it could happen sooner.
“We want to make direct progress on those issues before we have the broader review,” Carney told host David Cochrane.
Prime Minister Mark Carney sat down for a wide-ranging one-on-one interview with CBC’s Power & Politics host David Cochrane on Tuesday. Carney addressed Canada’s current relationship with the U.S. along with the challenges ahead for his new government, including housing affordability and separatist sentiment in Alberta.
Still, he signalled Canada isn’t interested in a prolonged fight over tariffs and trade.
Carney said “fairly intensive discussions” with the U.S. have been ongoing since he spoke with Trump at the White House.
“I don’t think it is either of our nations’ interest to drag out that long. I think the issues are getting into sharper relief,” he said. “But we are going to take as much time as necessary to get the right deal for Canada, but no more.”
Calls for bilateral trade deal
Ontario’s Ford has repeatedly called for a bilateral deal between Canada and the U.S. — saying Mexico should be cut out because it’s a source of transshipments, with Asian goods supposedly flooding into the continent through Mexican ports.
“I think we need to sit down and let’s get back to a USCA deal instead of USMCA deal, because Mexico is bringing in cheap parts from China, slapping on a made-in-Mexico sticker and costing American and Canadian jobs,” Ford said in a recent interview on CNBC.
“Clear the slate and let’s move forward,” he said.
Carney, though, has suggested he wants to move forward with both the U.S. and Mexico on a trilateral deal. He spoke to Sheinbaum by phone earlier this month and discussed trade.
In a summary of the call, the Prime Minister’s Office said the pair assigned “senior officials to immediately work to find opportunities to deepen bilateral relations.”
“We’re going to protect that critical partnership in the face of global economic shocks,” Carney wrote on social media.
Sheinbaum herself tweeted that she congratulated Carney on his election victory and “we agreed on the importance of the USMCA for the three nations.”
