APG OP ED: Now, more than ever, Canada must strengthen co-operation with Mexico to protect rights and sovereignty

The following Opinion article was published in The Hill Times on May 27, 2026.

It is good news that Canadian and Mexican officials met in Ottawa this month for a Bilateral Dialogue on Human Rights and Multilateral Affairs. Canada’s elevated “comprehensive strategic partnership” with Mexico, launched by Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Claudia Sheinbaum last fall, must prioritize the protection of fundamental rights alongside trade, security, and energy goals. It couldn’t be more important.

There are urgent challenges in both countries. Take, for example, serious environmental and social harms linked to resource extraction projects that are allowed to advance without meaningful consultation and the consent of affected Indigenous Peoples, in violation of international agreements to which both Canada and Mexico are a party. 

Gender-based violence is another shared challenge. Human rights experts report institutional neglect and impunity for femicides in Mexico, and in Canada, insufficient progress to protect Indigenous, Black, and racialized women and 2SLGBTQIA+ people. 

Equally pressing are concerns about security and human rights as Canada and Mexico prepare to host the World Cup. In Mexico, the military will be deployed, alongside police and private security companies. Amnesty International has documented how use of the military in policing in Mexico has coincided with torture, disappearances, killings, and extrajudicial executions. Meanwhile, civil society advocates in Toronto have expressed concern over reported plans to deploy a specialized police task force with semi-automatic rifles at key locations in the city, including tourist attractions, high-traffic public spaces, and critical infrastructure. It is essential that security strategies do not sacrifice human rights, including the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly.

Economic rights must also be a priority amid the fallout in both countries from United States President Donald Trump’s trade war. The instability of the North American economy—while the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement is under scheduled review—makes it even more important that gender equality and protection of labour rights are guiding principles, including the right to unionize and collective bargaining. 

Reinvigorated trade promotion aims for more Canadian investment in mining and infrastructure megaprojects in Mexico, sectors that have been historically dominated by protection unionism, the repression of labour rights, high levels of workplace violence, and threats against opponents. Given these realities, it is critical that there is also strong investment by Canada and Mexico in rights protection.

That requires working together to uphold the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, amended in 2022 to include “a safe and healthy working environment.” Unsafe work environments are disproportionately experienced by women, unrepresented groups, and Indigenous people; for example, in mining and manufacturing. Additionally, Canada and Mexico must work together to ensure consistent implementation of the ILO Violence and Harassment Convention, which recognizes the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment. 

Civil society organizations have been urging Canada to show its partnership by providing resources to address gaps in Mexico’s protection mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists, in one of the most dangerous countries in the world to do that work. Canadian co-operation could also support courageous efforts in Mexico to confront an exponential surge in disappearances.

Beyond all of this, it is vital that Canada and Mexico work together concertedly in the face of military aggression and egregious violations of international law by our mutual neighbour, the U.S. Trump has threatened to annex Canada and to intervene in Mexico, following a bloody U.S. attack in Venezuela in January and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. military continues illegal, lethal attacks on civilian vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, citing accusations—without evidence—of narcoterrorism. Cuba and its people face unlawful U.S. coercive measures to withhold the necessities for life, and the terrifying threat of military attack. It cannot be overstated that human rights and indeed peace in our hemisphere depend on middle power allies like Canada and Mexico supporting each other and joining forces to consistently defend foundational principles of human rights, international law, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, without exception. 

Kathy Price is national co-ordinator of the Americas Policy Group, a network of 22 Canadian civil society organizations that work with partner organizations in Mexico and other countries of Latin America and the Caribbean for rights, social justice, and protection of the environment.