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Hundreds of delegates representing businesses and key sectors from across Canada are taking part in this country’s biggest trade mission to Mexico in decades this week, and it’s a trip those on the ground say is long overdue.

“We’re in a continent that we share. We have two trading agreements with Mexico, both the (Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA) and the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership). This is an opportunity to go well beyond where we have been,” said Business Council of Canada CEO Goldy Hyder from Mexico City. “It’s a long time coming.”

The “Team Canada” trade mission has two main objectives: strategizing ahead of this year’s mandatory review of CUSMA, as well as trying to forge new bilateral relationships.

Led by Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, and organized in co-ordination with a Canadian Chamber of Commerce confab in Mexico City, the Canadian delegation is meeting with Mexican government officials and industry leaders, and will be hearing directly from trade and policy experts from both countries.

“Both Mexico and Canada are free trading nations. Both have multiple trading agreements around the world, but yet we didn’t do enough together. So, this is a chance to cross that Rubicon and never look back,” Hyder said. “There’s a tremendous amount of energy and vibrancy and momentum and buzz in the room.”

Canadian Chamber of Commerce CEO Candace Laing said the mission got underway on Sunday with a briefing and gathering at the embassy, and Monday will see the approximately 370 Canadian delegates connect with a Mexican delegation of comparable size.

“Talking with one business owner last night, I said: ‘What does success look like for you?’ And he’s like: ‘Well, I’m going to get you know, at least three to four good business connections.’ And then he’s hoping one of those he can follow up on, and I think in the next following weeks, we’ll see those follow-ups happen,” Laing said.

According to the industry heavyweights CTV News spoke with on Monday from Mexico City, they all expressed a similar sentiment, indicating that the time has come to explore economic and cultural connections that businesses may not have felt they needed, or took for granted, before the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war threw the relationship into a tailspin.

The mission picks up on where Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum left off, forging a new strategic co-operation agreement last September, but also comes as both countries are trying to plot a path forward that keeps CUSMA alive after the coming round of talks.

The trilateral trade deal and the protections within it has shielded considerable amounts of Canadian and Mexican commerce from U.S. President Donald Trump’s global tariffs. But, with various American officials threatening to scrap the pact in favour of separate agreements, Canadian stakeholders are viewing bilateral relations with Mexico in new light.

“There’s a ton of opportunity. I would say we haven’t actually leaned into what CUSMA, our trade agreement, affords us,” Laing said. “We just have not invested in building the relationships or educating ourselves or connecting those businesses so they can invest and lean into those opportunities.”

While merchandise trade between Canada and Mexico has increased twelvefold since the original North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into force, according to federal data, business leaders see potential to gain more market access.

“Mexico represents our second largest export market, after the United States, and with the current negotiation or revision of USMCA/CUSMA, it’s important for us to be here on the ground and see if there’s potential for our producers to expand their export to Mexico,” said Canadian Steel Producers Association vice-president Francois Desmarais.

Steel, as well as aluminum are still facing the brunt impact of Trump’s sectoral tariffs.

This mission, while widely attended, is focused on certain sectors where stakeholders see the most potential, including advanced manufacturing, agriculture and clean technology, as well as in creative industries.

Marianella DelaBarrera, a senior executive with MI Concept + Design, a Toronto-based agency that specializes in themed and immersive entertainment, said by Monday afternoon the company had several one-on-one meetings, including with resort developers and amusement parks, as well as peer design firms.

“They’re looking for partners as well. So, it’s going to be a two-way street,” she said. “We’re looking to bring our services here, and they’re looking to bring theirs back to Canada with us.”

Noting Canadian Heritage Minister Marc Miller is also in Mexico City, DelaBarrera said his team has helped facilitate meetings “which frankly, we would not have probably got on our own.”

Even while these industry leaders are moving to lock-in more bilateral business deals and sectoral agreements, there’s widespread optimism that CUSMA – in some form – will withstand the months of negotiations ahead.

“NAFTA and CUSMA have been really beneficial for all three countries, and I think we should keep it as a trilateral agreement,” said Desmarais. “It has been highly beneficial also to have a better integration on our trade policy.

“I’m highly optimistic that we’re going to be able to preserve CUSMA and even maybe make it even better from there,” they added.