Canada and the European Union are on the path to forming some sort of a political relationship that no one can figure out. The terms and conditions are largely unclear to the general public – and, quite possibly, the participants themselves. Canada’s potential role in the EU hasn’t been properly defined or explained. The two sides can’t even agree what to call this arrangement, and have each described it as something different.

Here’s what we do know about the (likely) nucleus of the Canada-EU discussions.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been trying to bring his country strategically closer to the EU for some time now. The former governor of the Bank of England described Canada as the ‘most European of non-European countries’ at a joint summit in Brussels last summer. While this comparison caught the attention of political commentators and columnists, including yours truly, it honestly seemed too far-fetched to be taken that seriously. 

This was the wrong assessment, as it turned out.

An exclusive story by Bloomberg this month revealed Canada and the EU were actually ‘working toward a new, all-encompassing relationship that will range from trade to security.’ The arrangement would reportedly ‘aim to cover all areas........

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