Representatives from Peace Brigades International teams in Canada and Mexico met with officials from the Embassy of Canada in Mexico today.
A key point of discussion was the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists in Mexico.
In January 2024, during the United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Mexico, the Government of Canada called on the Government of Mexico to: “Strengthen, from an intersectional and gender perspective, the federal Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, specifically in the areas of prevention, protection, investigation, and reparation.”
In September 2025, just after Canadian prime minister Mark Carney visited Mexico, PBI-Mexico accompanied two human rights defenders from the Espacio OSC to Ottawa to highlight and discuss this recommendation.
Now, in February 2026, PBI-Canada is visiting Mexico with the same message to coincide with the Team Canada Trade Mission to Mexico.
With the recent abduction of ten Mexican workers from the Vancouver-based Vizsla Silver Corp mine in Mexico less than five weeks ago, and with more than 61,000 Canadians in Mexico and the disruption that followed the killing by the Mexican military of Jalisco cartel leader El Mencho, security is a key issue.
We are aware that just as Canadian companies can face extortion from cartels in Mexico, land and environmental defenders and journalists who oppose extractive megaprojects can face threats and violence from cartels that want those projects to move forward as a source of extortion revenue.
We believe that tools such as the Protection Mechanism and the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) need to be strengthened and that the Government of Canada’s “Voices at Risk: Canada’s Guidelines on Supporting Human Rights Defenders” need to be implemented.
Canada in Mexico
The Globe and Mail has reported: “[Mexico has] proven an attractive destination for Canadian foreign direct investment, which totalled $46-billion in 2024. More than 60 Canadian auto parts companies and nearly 140 Canadian mining companies operate in Mexico. And a number of Canada’s largest businesses have a sizable footprint in the country [including] TC Energy Corp. [that] has over US$11-billion invested in 3,600 kilometres of natural gas pipelines in Mexico…”
That article further notes: “Companies such as Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. are betting on this growth. One reason CP bought the Kansas City Southern Railway in 2021 was to create a continental network that encompassed Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.” In May 2023, Bnamericas reported that the Government of Mexico had invited Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) to participate in the Maya Train and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec isthmus rail corridor between Oaxaca and Veracruz states.
Mining.com has also reported: “Mexico and Canada will present an joint action plan on minerals, infrastructure and supply chains in the second half of the year, Mexico’s Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said after meeting with Canada’s Minister of Trade, Dominic LeBlanc, in Mexico City. ‘We are preparing during the next month the action plan between Mexico and Canada in order to expand investment, increase commerce, reduce regulatory difficulties or obstacles, and facilitate investment,’ Ebrard told journalists. He also said a delegation of Mexico’s finance ministry will visit Canada to continue conversations, without providing a date.”
Upcoming webinar prior to Mexico-Canada Dialogue
Look for a webinar in late-April or early-May where we will continue to amplify this message in advance of the Mexico-Canada Dialogue on Human Rights and Multilateral Issues that will take place in Ottawa in the second half of May 2026.
Further reading: Secretary of State Randeep Sarai links aid with trade prior to Team Canada Trade Mission to Mexico (PBI-Canada article, February 4, 2026).
