OTTAWA, Ontario — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will lift visa requirements for Mexican visitors as of December 2016, while Mexico has agreed to open its markets to Canadian beef.
Trudeau made the announcement Tuesday alongside Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, who is in Ottawa for bilateral meetings ahead of Wednesday’s “Three Amigos” summit with U.S. President Barack Obama.
The previous Conservative government imposed the visa requirement in 2009, claiming it was needed to stop thousands of asylum claims being made by Mexican citizens. The requirement caught the Mexican government off guard, and has stood as a major irritant between the two countries.
Canada’s Liberals promised during last year’s election campaign that the visa requirement would be lifted, but the process has been fraught with delays.
