This opinion piece was originally published in the Toronto Star on March 8, 2026
As Prime Minister Mark Carney and a host of delegates conclude their whirlwind tour of Australia, India and Japan in search of new trade opportunities to help offset the potential damage of a failed CUSMA review and renegotiation, attention is increasingly falling on other trading opportunities closer to home, in this hemisphere.
Mexico, an existing CUSMA partner with a sizable internal market of over 130 million, has been an obvious target and one that is now being actively exploited. As recently as last month, a 370-member strong trade delegation led by Minister Dominic LeBlanc took the Mexican capital by storm, all in an effort to expand direct Canada-Mexico commercial links literally across the U.S. divide.
After years of on-and-off negotiations, discussions have resumed as well to forge a new alliance with South America, through a direct link to the Mercosur group of countries. The Mercosur trading area now includes five core member nations — Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia and Argentina. Its size is impressive, with a population of 282 million and a collective gross domestic product of $4 trillion (all figures Canadian), 60 per cent higher than that posted for Canada’s CUSMA partner Mexico.
Few could deny the obvious advantages to Canada a Mercosur link would bring, particularly as trade with the U.S. becomes more difficult and the Government of Canada looks to rack up an increasing array of agreements with countries and trading blocs around the globe. This needs to be pursued with both urgency and a targeted strategy in hand.
In this latter regard, the one stark reality of Mercosur that Canada’s federal government needs to recognize and directly exploit, is Brazil’s overarching dominance of the Mercosur network, as both a stable democracy and the economic powerhouse of the continent, with a strong global presence in key sectors such as agricultural biotechnology, aerospace and mining.
Brazil’s population, at over 213 million, accounts for 76 per cent of the bloc’s total; its GDP for 77 per cent. Brazil is also by far the major trading nation of the group, accounting in 2024 for some $457 billion in exports and US$356 in imports.
Given the size of its market and economy and overarching importance in the Mercosur bloc, Brazil is clearly the linchpin and should be critical to the government’s approach to clinching a deal. Yet, while talks with Mercosur representatives are underway, relatively few overtures have been made directly to Brazil, other than visit last summer by Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu.
In fact, it took a recent phone invitation by Brazilian President Luiz (Lula) Inácio da Silva for Carney to visit Brasília this spring for the subject of a direct, high-level encounter to even come up. Yet, despite the invitation, Canada has yet to announce the dates of a possible visit or who might accompany the PM.
The foundations of growth in Canada-Brazil trade are already in place. In 2024, two-way commercial exchange was nearly $18 billion, including areas of particular interest and potential growth in sectors, such as aerospace, sustainable mining and agricultural products. Bilateral investments are now at over $35 billion, with strong Brazilian presence in Canada in mining, cement production, steel and food processing.
Not insignificantly as well, over 71,000 Brazilians now call Canada home. There are also a number of effective organizations that are developing an increasingly strong record of network building in trade and investment, such as the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce.
What remains to be done and soon is for Canada to signal its direct intention to engage, and at the highest levels with Brazil, to quickly expand bilateral commercial opportunities, and as the key to solidifying its broader efforts to align with Mercosur.
As a leading member of the expanding BRICS community, and the economic powerhouse of South America and Mercosur (which recently concluded a landmark trading agreement with the EU), Brazil has lots of potential dance partners. Let’s make sure that Canada is at least one of them.
Ted Hewitt is a sociology professor at Western University and the former chair of the Canada-Brazil Science, Technology and Innovation Joint Committee and a member of Board of the Brazil Canada Chamber of Commerce.
Expert Insight reflects the perspective and scholarly interest of Western faculty members and is not an articulation of official university policy on issues being addressed.
