Canadian businesses, investors and economists confronted the prospect Friday of one of Canada's biggest trading partners exiting the European Union and what it will mean for their operations and the economy at large.

"The UK is one of Canada's top trading and investment partners, however the small relative size of these relationships points to a muted direct effect on Canada's economy," RBC Economics said in a note to clients.

Nonetheless it warned there could be a "return to risk aversion in financial markets is expected to put downward pressure on oil prices, government bond yields and the Canadian dollar."...

This has been excerpted from 25 June 2016 edition of the CBC News.