A new U.K. government renews hopes for a free trade deal with Canada

The major shift in the British political landscape after Thursday's election is reviving hope for a possible free trade deal across the pond in Canada.

Keir Starmer officially became U.K. prime minister Friday morning, appointed by King Charles III after Conservative Leader Rishi Sunak stepped down. The British electorate gave Labour a landslide victory with 412 of Parliament's 650 seats, handing the Tories a historic loss.

Achim Hurrelmann, a professor of political science at Carleton University, said Canada and the U.K. have maintained strong ties.

«Even though the (Canadian) Liberal party and the Conservative Party in the U.K. are of different party families, they have generally worked together well on international and trade issues,» he said.

But talks on a free trade deal, which began after Brexit, collapsed in January.

One of the critical issues in the talks was the U.K.'s desire to send more British cheese across the Atlantic. An exemption from Canadian dairy quotas expired at the end of 2023.

Martin Buckle, director of the British Canadian Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said it was «very surprising» when the U.K. government walked away from negotiations because the dairy issue was well known.

«We're hoping that the new government has another look at that and really tries to pick its way through that negotiation and find a way to settle something with Canada,» he said.

There were also concerns about British rules that ban the sale of hormone-treated beef from Canada, and rules of origin in the automotive sector.

A continuity agreement is in place that keeps most of the former European Union trade rules in place until a separate deal is inked.

The U.K. is Canada's fourth-largest trading partner, with two-way trade amounting