Olga Abizaid is the Director of the Research Forum on North America at the Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL) and Coordinator of the Canadian chapter of the Canada-Mexico Initiative. Since 2004 she has undertaken extensive research on North American integration and has specialized in the Canada–Mexico relationship. She also has extensive experience working in Canadian foreign policy, the Mexican oil industry, and Mexican foreign and domestic politics. She holds a MA in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and a Licenciatura in International Relations from the Universidad Iberoamericana, in Mexico City.