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League of Nations
It was an international organization whose purpose was to maintain world peace. It was created to solve international disputes and enforce the idea behind the Treaty of Versailles. Canada had a separate seat on the nation, showing it’s independence from Britain. League of Nations presented Canada with opportunities for peacemaking which showed its strength as a nation. -
Treaty of Versailles
It was one of the most important treaties to end World War 1. Germany had to take all the blame for the war, pay a large amount of money, lose their territories abroad and reduce military. Canada was given it’s own seat and voice at the peace talks and was able to sign the armistice on its own behalf. -
Chanak Crisis
This was an incident that broke out in a place called Chanak in Turkey. The Turkish tried to push Greek armies out of their territory. Britain maintained troops there to protect the waterway that linked the Mediterranean to the Black Sea due to the terms of the treaty. Prime Minister Mackenzie refused to join war and stated he would speak to Parliament first. The refusal revealed Canada no longer had to join the war on British command, but was independent. -
Imperial Conference
These were meetings which brought Britain and its dominions together. Canada and other dominions wanted greater independence from England. In 1923, Prime Minister Mackenzie King was allowed independent action of signing the Halibut Treaty without Britain. For the first time, Canada had negotiated and signed its own treaty without involvement from England. -
Halibut Treaty
This was a fishing agreement between United States and Canada. British government wished to sign the treaty with Canada because they had always been involved in every negotiation. However, Prime Minister Mackenzie threatened separate representation in Washington and the British reluctantly accepted to not be included. This was the first time Canada had signed and negotiated its own treaty, marking its colonial independence. -
King-Byng Crisis
This was a Canadian constitutional crisis pitting the powers of a Prime Minister against the powers of a governor general. The crisis came to redefine the role of governor general, not only in Canada but throughout the Dominions, becoming a major impetus in negotiations at Imperial Conferences held in the late 1920s that led to the adoption of the Statute of Westminster 1931. As a result, Canadian Prime Ministers no longer had to get everything approved by British generals. -
Balfour Report
It was about making the dominions of England as equal as them. The Balfour Report of 1926 declared that Britain and its Dominions were constitutionally equal to each other. The Balfour Report was a landmark document confirming Canada as a fully independent country, united with Britain and the other Dominions. -
Statute of Westminster
It was a British law clarifying the powers of Canada's Parliament and those of the other Commonwealth Dominions. It granted these former colonies full legal freedom except in those areas where they chose to remain under Britain. This clarified the powers of Canada's Parliament and those of the other Commonwealth Dominions.