Visit of Ernesto Zedillo, President of Mexico

Mr. President,

On behalf of all Canadians, it is an honour to welcome you to this special Joint Session of Parliament.

I want to take this opportunity to relate a little-known story about the relationship between our two countries.

It is reported that in the summer of 1861, several years before Confederation here in Canada, a trade mission left the port of Montreal to look for new markets for our goods. Word had reached the North that Mexico was a promising destination. The small delegation of entrepreneurs arrived off the port of Veracruz later that year.

Their timing was terrible. A few weeks earlier, Britain, France and Spain had landed troops in the city. In May 1862, Mexico fought a battle outside the city of Puebla. Of course our Mexican guests will know that Mexico won that battle. In fact, May 5th is still a national holiday. But they may not know that, in the meantime, the Canadians had run away and decided to go to Brazil instead.

Our bilateral relations may have been delayed somewhat in those very early days, but we have made up for it since then. In 1905, Canada posted its first trade commissioner to Mexico. A few years ago we celebrated our fiftieth anniversary of official diplomatic relations. Over those years we have developed extensive political and economic links, as well as countless personal connections between our citizens. Most recently, our commercial relations have been galvanized by the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trade is an important part of our relationship. Since the first year of NAFTA, we have seen a dramatic increase in bilateral trade between Canada and Mexico, as well as expanded trade and investment in the entire continent. We must continue to build on these accomplishments.

Our trade with each other is boosting economic growth and job creation in both our countries. The scope for expanding our trade and investment contacts is enormous. The impressive business delegation you have brought with you will be visiting some of the major economic centres of Canada, and will meet with our business community. We intend to make our partnership grow.

Of course our friendship extends well beyond trade. Since March 1990, more than 35 bilateral agreements have been signed with Mexico on matters ranging from environmental cooperation and education to mining and energy. Your visit will see more agreements signed, including a Technical Cooperation Agreement between Elections Canada and your Federal Electoral Institute.

Your visit also comes at a time when Mexico is undergoing a profound transformation. Under your leadership, Mexico is preparing itself for the challenges of the twenty-first century.

As you know, Mr. President, I have been to Mexico myself. My visit in March 1994 coincided with one of the most tragic events in your history. It was a challenging year for your country, and there were some who feared for Mexico at that time.

I did not. I said then that I had faith in the ability of your democracy to survive those difficult shocks. Today, I am extremely pleased to see that I was right. Two years later, your administration is moving ahead quickly with important political and economic reforms. The turnaround you have achieved within the last few months is dramatic. Mexico is set for solid growth this year, and has become a market economy to be reckoned with. I congratulate you on these remarkable achievements.

Mr. President, I think you will agree that Canada and Mexico have more in common than many people realize. Like Mexico, Canada is a country proud of its indigenous past and proud of the traditions we inherited from the European colonists who settled this continent. We also value the contributions made by more recent immigrants.

Both Mexicans and Canadians are proud to have built unique and independent nations here in North America.

Like Mexico, we share a border with a large and powerful neighbour, the United States. Both our countries have a bilateral relationship with that country which is sometimes frustrating, often complex, but generally rewarding.

In the course of your visit, Mr. President, you will travel 5,000 kilometres and I hope that you will gain a better picture of who we are and the land we live in. Because the friendship between our two countries is important to Canada as we approach the twenty-first century. Your visit is an opportunity for us to look to our common future, to assess how we can work together for our mutual benefit, and to lead the way forward.

I am delighted that you have accepted our invitation to speak to the Parliament of Canada today.

Fellow parliamentarians and honoured guests -- please join me in welcoming our neighbour,

y nuestro estimado amigo (and our good friend), the President of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo.