Joly touts ‘private’ diplomacy as Mexico criticizes Canada’s culture, trade

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is not escalating a war of words with Mexico, after the Mexican president criticized Canada’s culture and its framing of border issues.

“I fundamentally believe that many conversations, when it comes to diplomacy, are always better when they remain private,” Joly said Monday during a teleconference from Brussels.

The rift between the two trading partners started with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s declaration that he plans to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all goods from both countries unless they stop the flow of migrants and illegal drugs into the U.S.

Several federal and provincial officials in Canada responded by saying the issues at the Canadian border are vastly different from the Mexican border. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for example, has voiced concerns that the level of Chinese investment in Mexico goes against the economic-security goals of Ottawa and Washington.

Some premiers have called on Canada to negotiate a trade deal with Washington independent from Mexico, ahead of the 2026 review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, which replaced NAFTA during Trump’s last tenure in the White House.

In a Monday press conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico “must be respected, especially by its trading partners.”

She also noted that Canada has “a very serious problem with fentanyl consumption,” more than Mexico, and possibly as a result of some drug-decriminalization measures.

“We are not going to fall for a provocation of which country is better,” she said, chalking some criticism from Canada up to political pandering.

“Mexico should not be used as part of (Canadian) electoral campaigns,” she said.

Yet Sheinbaum also said Canada “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has,” saying her country has civilizations dating back thousands of years.

Asked to respond, Joly said she is reaching out to Mexican officials after speaking with the U.S., including about the “very important trade agreement” that includes all three countries.

“I know there has been many conversations in Canada about how we can work together and how we can, at the same time, protect our interests,” she said.

“We have a positive relationship with Mexico, and we need to work with the country; that’s definitely my goal.”

Christopher Sands, director of the Canada Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, said tensions between both countries played out in the NAFTA renegotiation, when there was limited communication between Ottawa and Mexico City.

“The Canada-Mexico relationship has always been the weakest part of the triangle of North America,” he said.

“There was a lot of feeling during the (CUSMA) negotiations that Mexico was willing to go it alone, and that Canada particularly toward the end was on the outside looking in, and had to fight its way back to the table.”

He said Washington would rather have a trade pact with all three countries so it can limit the time and attention it needs on continental issues.

“The U.S. is probably the most trilateral of all three countries,” he said, with a caveat.

“I think Donald Trump looks at this going into 2026 and says, ‘Great, divide and conquer.'”

Sands added that Sheinbaum and her predecessor have implemented nationalist policies that have been at odds with Washington.

“The Mexican government has been moving in a direction which is antithetical to the North American project (through) nationalizing parts of the economy, by reversing energy reforms, by doing deals with the cartels. (They are) sometimes working co-operatively with the Americans in the borders, and sometimes not.”

Sheinbaum indicated a week ago that she would be writing a letter to Trudeau. That has not been made public, although she did release a letter she had sent to Trump.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press and Kelly Geraldine Malone in Washington

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press