Feb 24 - Canada's Autonomy Timeline

Canadian Autonomy Timeline – 1900-1939

1903 – Alaska Boundary Dispute

·      Dispute over where the boundary lay between BC and Alaska

·      England negotiated settlement for Canada

·      England sided with the United states

1914 – Creation of the Canadian Expeditionary Force

·      Canada is automatically at war with Germany when England declares war

·      Canadians form their own military force instead of joining the Royal Army

1917 - Vimy Ridge

·      For the first time in history Canadians fight together as a unit.

·      CEF proves itself as a respected fighting force

·      Canada achieves a goal that the French and English couldn’t

1919 - Treaty of Versailles

·      Canada negotiates independently of Britain at the Treaty of Versailles

·      Although a separate signature was signed by Canada it is not given the weight of other independent states

1919 – League of Nations

·      Canada is granted its own, independent seat at the League of Nations

·      The United States does not join the league, so Canada is the sole voice of North America

 1922 - Chanak Affair

·      Turkish nationalists attack allied occupation troops in Turkey

·      Great Britain puts a call out to it’s dominions for help

·      Canada does not send troops

1923 – Halibut Treaty

·      Canada and the United States have a dispute over fishing rights in the North Pacific Ocean

·      For the first time in history Canada negotiates an international treaty independently of England

1925 – King-Byng Crisis

·      A crisis erupted between the Canadian Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King and the Canadian Governor General, Lord Julian Byng.

·      As the representative of the King, Governor General Byng refused to dissolve parliament at the request of the Prime Minister.

·      This was seen as direct interference by a British appointed official in Canadian politics.

1926 - Balfour Report

·      In 1926 Canada and other prominent came together to discuss their role in the British Empire

·      A British politician, Lord Balfour, chaired the conference and issued a report that declared that Britain and the Dominions of Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Irish Free State were "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations."

1931 - Statute of Westminster

·      British Parliament, influenced by the recommendations made in the Balfour Report, passed the Statute of Westminster.

·      The Statute gave Canada full autonomy in foreign policy

·      Britain still held the highest legal court (until 1949) and the final power to amend the Canadian Constitution (until 1982)

1939 – Declaration of War on Nazi Germany

·      After the Nazi German invasion of Poland on Sept. 1 1939, Britain declared war on Nazi Germany on Sept. 3.

·      Unlike in the First World War when Canada was automatically at war when England declared war, Canada declared war on Nazi Germany on Sept 10, 1939.

·      This week long delay was a symbolic gesture that showed both England and the World that Canada was now a fully autonomous nation in total control of it’s foreign policy.