[crote]

I don't think this is an attractive option for Canada. The main downside of EFTA is that you are required to follow a lot of single-market legislation, without getting any say in it.

Considering how tightly Canada is currently coupled to the US, this would be an absolute nightmare for many businesses. Yeah you'd gain a hypothetical overseas market, but in turn you're losing alignment with an absolutely massive market right next door! That's something like 60% of your import/export, gone.

[grecy]

Sure, but if the threatened tariffs come in, that nearby market will drop considerably. The EU is also a bigger market than the US. 440mil vs. 340mil.

[sealeck]

Usually when evaluating markets you consider how much money the relevant participants have, not just how many of them are.

For example China has 1bn+ people, but Canada probably shouldn't sign a free trade deal with them.