Trudeau says he expects trade deal with UK can be done before 2021

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he expects Canada can make a new trade deal with the U.K. before the calendar hit 2021.

Speaking at a digital event hosted by the Financial Times, Trudeau said a deal should be relatively straightforward to manage even as the U.K. lurches toward its official exit from the European Union.

Until Dec. 31, Britain remains a member of the EU, and is still bound by the continent's sweeping free-trade deal with Canada on goods and services, known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA.

Trudeau said he and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson believe the two countries are ready to have a new deal done before Jan. 1, 2021.

The two spoke earlier this week.