Adrian Wyld/CP IMF Managing Director Christine Lagard, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong share a laugh with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as they participate in a family photo before the ASEAN working luncheon in Singapore on Nov. 14, 2018.

SINGAPORE — Canada wants to walk down the path toward a free-trade agreement with a bloc of 10 Asian nations as early as next spring, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday in his only opportunity to directly address the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Trudeau told a leaders' luncheon that exploratory talks could be wrapped up by the spring with negotiations to begin soon after — timing that would be close to next fall's federal election.

The ASEAN countries combined have nearly 650 million people, an economy of US$2.8 trillion, and are already Canada's sixth-biggest trading partner.

'Canada is resolutely pro-trade'

"Canada is resolutely pro-trade and Canada is very aware that the centre of economic gravity in the world is certainly shifting towards Asia and specifically towards southeast Asia," Trudeau said. "The ASEAN nations represent extremely exciting, growing economies, looking to take their place in the world and Canada is very excited about working with you on that."

He also made a pitch at the luncheon for ASEAN's support when Canada bids for a seat on the United Nations Security Council.

A preliminary study of a Canada-ASEAN trade agreement touting the merits of a deal has been done by a group of Canadian businesses in the region, but experts suggest it could take years to finalize an agreement with the 10-nation group, which includes the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma. Some think the pursuit is pointless.

Carlo Dade, an expert on Pacific trade with the Canada West Foundation, said he sees no benefit to a trade deal with ASEAN, since four of the 10 members— Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam — are already part of a larger Pacific trade deal and others have expressed interest in joining.

That treaty, known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership — or CPTPP for short — is an ambitious agreement that likely won't be matched if Canada negotiates separately with ASEAN because its deals tend to be less comprehensive, Dade said.

"I'll just be blunt: Trade negotiations with ASEAN, I think, would largely be a waste of time."

Earlier: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pushes human rights at 2017 ASEAN summit