After years of negotiations, the European Union parliament has voted in favour of a landmark trade deal with Canada.

The legislature approved the deal by a margin of 408-254, after three hours of debating on Wednesday.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a progressive free trade agreement which covers virtually all sectors and aspects of Canada-EU trade in order to eliminate or reduce barriers. Once CETA is fully implemented, the EU will have eliminated tariffs on 99 percent of its tariff lines.

The vote comes a day before Trudeau is scheduled to arrive in Europe to deliver a pro-trade message in an address to the EU Parliament.

EU ratification now paves the way for 90 per cent of the agreement to come into action once the Canadian government follows suit in the next few months.