La Jornada: Ebrard heads mission of 240 Mexican companies to Canada

The Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard, heads a trade mission made up of 240 Mexican companies that will carry out activities in Canada in order to expand trade and investment between both countries.

The activities will take place on May 7 and 8 in Toronto and Montreal, where more than 1,800 business meetings are expected between Mexican companies and around 200 Canadian companies.

The mission, organized by the Ministry of Economy, brings together companies from agribusiness, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, electromobility, creative, education and patent development, among others, as well as investment funds and innovation clusters. Most of the participating companies are small and medium-sized.

“It is an unprecedented working visit that has the purpose of expanding our flow of investment and trade with Canada,” the official said in a statement. He added that, although there is already a relevant exchange between both countries, the intention is to “accelerate and above all open the market for many Mexican companies, particularly small and medium-sized ones.”

The secretary will have lunch with executives from companies such as Air Canada, Bombardier, ATCO, Brookfield, CN Rail and TC Energy, as well as representatives of the Business Council of Canada.

He will also lead meetings between Mexican companies and investment funds, including the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, as well as with financial institutions, to identify financing and collaboration opportunities.

In parallel, Ebrard will meet with the Minister of Commerce of Canada, Dominic LeBlanc. These talks are not part of a formal round of negotiation, but seek to advance the process towards the review of the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC).

Joining the tour are the Undersecretary of Industry and Commerce, Ximena Escobedo; the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez; the ambassador of Mexico in Canada, Carlos Joaquín González, and the consuls in Toronto and Montreal, Iván Sierra and Víctor Treviño, respectively.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the trade mission is emerging as the most far-reaching of its kind in recent years.