U.K. doesn’t need Brexit for closer ties with Canada

When people come knocking on your door asking to make a deal you’ve already signed with them, you know something’s odd, even wrong.

And that, we suspect, is how many Canadians will react to the recent visit from Britain’s newly minted foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, to propose of all things a new free-trade deal between his country and this one.

It’s easy to agree with Raab that it makes sense to bulldoze the trade walls between Canada and Britain, nations already closely bound by the ties of history, culture, language, international alliances and commerce.

It’s such a fantastic idea, in fact, that someone got there before Raab. There already is a free-trade pact between the two countries.

Except this one’s called the Canada-European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. It’s a fairly new deal between Canada and the EU, of which Britain is a part until Oct. 31. That’s the day on which the United Kingdom is on track to pull a Brexit and leave the EU. And its existing trade agreement with Canada.

But Raab’s attempt to woo Canada into entering an entirely new trade marriage simply underlines the foolishness of the Brexit crusade.

To be fair to Raab, it’s wise to strengthen Britain’s relationships with other global partners for the tense days after it’s packed its bags and walked out of Europe. Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland gave a warm reception to Raab last week, and there’s no reason Canada shouldn’t be receptive to his proposals.

After the United States and China, the U.K. does more trade with Canada than any other country — trade worth $32 billion a year.

But Raab’s visit to Ottawa really said more about the short-term needs of the British government than the current or future state of Britain’s relations with Canada.

Its main purpose was to send a reassuring message to the folks back home — duly reported by British media — that Britain still has lots of friends it can count on. That it still matters on the world stage. And that it can have its Brexit cake and eat it, too, by maintaining, even enhancing, trade ties with other friends.

But on another level, it’s all a bit wonky. What Raab is advocating is for Britain to begin years of complicated trade negotiations with Canada while it’s trying to sort out Brexit. And, in this case, simply to get something Britain already has but politicians like Raab are, temporarily at least, taking away: That’s better access to Canadian goods and Canadian markets than most other countries in the world.

While the Canada-European Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement was signed and delivered by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, much of the heavy lifting that made it possible was done by the previous Conservative government of Stephen Harper. It took years to make it happen.

Agreeing to a new deal with a post-Brexit Britain will take more than a few weekends or weeks. Think years. This is especially true because, at the same time, Britain will be preoccupied with reaching new trade agreements with its biggest trading partners — the members of the EU. Britain, by the way, hasn’t had to negotiate a trade deal on its own for half a century.

Raab was right when he said Britain and Canada seem more like family than just friends. Our strong ties go back for centuries and will continue, whatever Britian’s future in Europe. But perhaps, as a family member, Freeland might quietly tell Raab it would be smart to cancel Brexit while there’s still time.