Nafta betrayal points to bleak future for US-Canada relationship

Canadians feel stabbed in the back by Mexico after it agreed a separate trade deal with Trump

It is a threat that has loomed since Donald Trump took power, bursting into view each time the US president attacks Canada's trade policies. But this week Canadians have been forced to confront the possibility of a breakdown in trade relations with their closest ally and biggest trading partner, after the US president announced a preliminary deal with Mexico.

The news left Canadians reeling and sent the country's foreign minister rushing to Washington DC in the hope of salvaging the decades-old North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) - a three-way deal between the US, Canada and Mexico. The stakes for Canada are sky-high; the country sends three quarters of its exports south of the border while roughly 2.5m Canadian jobs depend on US trade.

There are no poison pills left - only bitter ones for Canada to swallow

Related: Nafta: what is it and why is Trump trying to renegotiate?