- Are you a Canadian in Puerto Vallarta without delay? Reach out to us at shareyourstory@globalnews.ca with information on what you’re experiencing and the way we are able to get in contact with you.
There are currently greater than 26,000 Canadians registered in Mexico as cartel violence hits the favored tourist area of Puerto Vallarta — and no plans for military or consular flights to help Canadians getting out, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said.
Anand said the federal government is working on plans to “assist,” but didn’t share further details and said Mexican authorities have told her that they expect the situation to “normalize.”
“I’m in touch with my Mexican counterpart who expects the situation to normalize in the approaching days. Our ambassador and consular staff are working with their counterparts to be certain that Canadians remain protected,” Anand told reporters in Ottawa Monday.
As of seven a.m. Eastern on Monday, 26,305 Canadians in Mexico have registered with Global Affairs Canada, Anand said. This number is a rise of around 8,000 in comparison with 24 hours ago, signalling Canadians registering with GAC “within the 1000’s” as cartel violence escalates in Mexico’s Jalisco state.
Since registration is voluntary, Anand said the actual variety of Canadians in Mexico is predicted to be higher.
Canadians are being urged to register with GAC, either by calling register 613-996-8885-SOS or at international.gc.ca.
Within the last 24 hours, Canada’s Emergency Watch and Response Centre has received 440 calls from Canadians who’re in search of details about flights and travel advisories, Anand said.
Two of the calls for consular support “relate to Canadians who’ve non-life-threatening injuries,” Anand said, but added it wasn’t clear whether these injuries were a results of cartel violence.
Canadians told to ‘shelter in place’
Canadians in Puerto Vallarta are being asked to “shelter in place” after violence erupted within the seaside Mexican town over the killing of cartel leader and drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, higher often known as “El Mencho,” in a military raid on Sunday.
“Criminal groups have arrange roadblocks with burning vehicles in several cities in various parts of Mexico. There have been shootouts with security forces and explosions, including on roads and highways connecting affected areas to Mexico City,” Global Affairs Canada said in a security alert.
Get every day National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
GAC has warned of security incidents in several Mexican states, including Jalisco, where Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara are.
Along with Jalisco, security alerts were issued for Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa, Quintana Roo, Baja California and Nayarit.
“Shelter in place” orders are in effect in Jalisco and Nayarit. Similar instructions, including curfews, could also be issued on short notice in other areas of the country, GAC warned.
Air Canada said it had cancelled six flights connecting Puerto Vallarta to a few Canadian destinations, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. This includes three flights to and three flights from Puerto Vallarta, affecting slightly below 500 passengers each way, the airline said.
“We’re monitoring the situation and are working to bring our customers back as soon because it is protected to achieve this. We’ll share more information as soon as possible,” Air Canada said in an announcement.
WestJet said it has diverted seven flights enroute to Puerto Vallarta and cancelled twenty-four additional flights to and from Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara and Manzanillo., while Porter said it has cancelled it cancelled two roundtrip flights from Ottawa and Toronto.
Daniel Drolet, a Canadian who has wintered in Puerto Vallarta for years, said in a phone interview with Reuters that he was concerned of a brand new era of violence taking root within the typically placid resort zone.
“I even have never seen anything like this before,” he said.
Inside hours of the killing of Oseguera, gunmen suspected to be his supporters blocked highways across several states and set cars and businesses ablaze.
In some towns tourists and residents were urged to remain indoors, while truckers were advised to take protected routes or return to their depots until the violence abated.
The burst of violence across greater than half a dozen states painted a well-recognized scene for Mexicans who’ve spent twenty years watching successive governments wage war on drug cartels, ravaging broad swaths of the country.
A member of Oseguera’s Jalisco Latest Generation Cartel told Reuters that the blazes and sporadic gunfire were carried out in revenge for the federal government’s killing of Oseguera, and warned of further bloodshed as groups move to take control of his cartel.
“The attacks were carried out in revenge for the leader’s death, at first against the federal government and out of discontent,” the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“But later the interior killings are coming, by the groups moving in to take over.”
Within the state of Jalisco, authorities reported that gunmen had attacked a base for the National Guard military police, and really helpful guests remain inside hotels and suspended public transit.
–with files from Reuters
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.