Carney heads to Mexico in search of an ally — and opportunities

Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to Mexico Thursday with two separate, but related, goals.

The first is to find ways to work with Mexico to preserve North America-wide free trade, or at least as much of it as can be saved from the most protectionist U.S. administration in a century.

The second is to develop a bilateral trading relationship with Mexico that operates independently of the whims of the White House, and can survive whatever fate lies in store for the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) when its renegotiation finally happens.