Abstract
Signed in 1976, the EU-Canada relationship was the first bilateral agreement that the EU signed with an industrialised third country. Modest strengthening of the ties was achieved with the 2004 EU-Canada Partnership Agenda. Negotiations towards a fully-fledged free trade agreement were in the works at this time, but were suspended in 2006. The EU-Canada strategic partnership agreement (SPA) and the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) did not materialise until more than a decade later, in 2016. To assess this process, the chapter seeks to understand the role of governance structures of both partners and the strategic opportunity that came out of the agreement. To answer this question, the paper looks at four time periods. In so doing, it explores the origins of the EU-Canada agreement, how the EU-Canada relationship changed over time, and examines how a more profound strategic partnership came about when it did. In its analysis, it considers institutional, domestic and geopolitical factors. It briefly speculates about the possible future of this partnership.
Published Version
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