Restarting the bilateral trade negotiations “would be one step” towards that, Goodale argued.
Yet he acknowledged reviving the talks could be difficult for Keir Starmer’s Labour government. “We realize we’re dealing with a new government with a different set of priorities and it may take them a while to do the internal consideration that they need to do, and that’s understandable,” Goodale said.
It’s not just the U.K. government that faces hurdles to getting the talks back on track.
Canada’s parliament is currently prorogued as Trudeau’s Liberal party holds a leadership race after he announced at the start of this year his plans to resign as the country prepares for a general election in 2025.
The party, which is languishing in the polls, will choose its new leader and prime minister of Canada on March 9 with Former Canadian and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and Trudeau’s former Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland as the front runners to replace him.
Canada’s government is required to hold a general election this year before the end of October.
“In the meantime, we do have a trade agreement in place that is pretty darn good,” Goodale said.
