Laura Macdonald talks to the Globe and Mail about Canada’s refugee concerns amid talk of visa requirement for Mexicans.
Laura Macdonald, a Carleton University professor of political science, said the last time Canada imposed a visa requirement on Mexican travellers – in 2009 under the Harper government – it had a “devastating impact on that relationship that we’re almost just recovering from at the moment.”
She said the last time the visa requirement was enacted, “the Mexicans took it as a major insult.”
She said Mexico and Canada will need to work together closely if Donald Trump wins the 2024 U.S. presidential election. In 2017, Mr. Trump forced a renegotiation of the North American free-trade agreement on terms that he felt benefited the United States and his continued protectionist rhetoric suggests he could once again upend trade relations on this continent.
“We need to work together. If he divides and conquers us, we’re in big trouble,” she said of Mr. Trump. “So this is a really critical moment in that relationship.”