Canada drops visas for Mexico, as Trump pushes the two countries closer together

Mexicans no longer need a visa to travel to Canada. The new policy, effective Dec. 1, was first announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in June and confirmed during the “Three Amigos” summit.

Mexicans can now visit Canada with an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), which costs 7 Canadian dollars and is valid for five years.

Canada and Mexico could become tighter buddies in the Trump era, and the lifting of visa restrictions is injecting new energy into a bilateral relationship that has historically been tense during times when the two countries have had to compete for the U.S. market.

Now Canadian officials are reportedly preparing for “a potential flood of Mexican immigrants,” following Donald Trump’s election win.

The lifting of visa restrictions, first imposed in 2009 by conservative Canadian former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, represents a small foreign policy victory for the embattled government of President Enrique Peña Nieto, who has found an unlikely ally in Trudeau in matters such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Trump has vowed to withdraw from or renegotiate.

At the recent APEC summit in Peru, Peña Nieto and Trudeau discussed the future of NAFTA and the Transpacific Trade Partnership (TTP) without U.S. participation.

Peña Nieto and Trudeau, good hair aside, couldn’t be more different. The Mexican President has a record-low approval rating because of his mismanagement of corruption and security scandals. Trudeau, meanwhile, continues to be the liberal darling of the internet, even after receiving some international backlash for his statement following Fidel Castro’s death last weekend.

Under a Trump White House, Canada and Mexico seem destined to become cuates more than ever.