Canada’s Road to Independence Canada’s Ongoing Battle to Achieve Full Independence from Great Britain King Vs. Byng The Chanak Crisis The Halibut Treaty The Balfour Declaration The Statute of Westminster

King Vs. Byng MacKenzie King: Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Liberal Party. He has an alliance with the Progressive Party (Minority Government). As Wilfred Laurier’s Successor, he has big shoes to fill. Would like to have another election so he can have the chance to gain a majority government MacKenzie King

Arthur Meighen Arthur Meighen The man who originally drafted the conscription bill. Helped crush the Winnipeg General Strike Took over leadership of the Conservative Party after Robert Borden and served briefly as prime minister of Canada before King beat him in a federal election in 1921. Both King and Meighen disliked each other “The most contemptible charlatan ever to darken the annals of Canadian Politics” (Meighen’s Description of King) “Sarcastic, vitriolic and the meanest type of politician” (King’s description of Meighen) Arthur Meighen

The Setting of the Conflict After the 1921 election, King served as Prime Minister of Canada for the next four years with a minority government with the support of the Progressives party. However, in the next election, the Conservatives under Meighen won more seats than the Liberals. King believed that he could still serve as prime minister since he still had the support of the majority of the house. (Progressives still supported him). King managed to cling to power with a coalition government until 1926 when a scandal regarding bootleg liquor and kickbacks in the liquor commission threatened to topple the government. Rather than risk a massive revolt, King decided to call an election. His reasoning was that he now needed a stronger mandate to govern since the credibiliity of his government was now shaken

Enter Julien Byng Lord Julien Byng Former British commander at Vimy Ridge (1917). A decorated war hero. The Governor General of Canada When a prime minister wants to call an election, he must ask the Governor General for consent. It’s supposed to be a formality since the Governor General is expected to follow the instructions of the Prime Minister (the leader of the Country who is selected by the people of Canada). The Governor General is appointed . When asked by Prime Minister King to consent to a new election, Lord Byng said “no!” Lord Julien Byng

Lord Byng’s Decision Byng said “no” because he felt that Canada had already had an election 8 months earlier and did not need another one. King thought that it was ridiculous for a Governor General to disobey a Prime Minister of Canada since in his mind it was the job of the Governor General to “rubber stamp” the decisions of the government. Byng, the retired war hero stuck to his guns (pun intended), and decided to declare Arthur Meighen the Prime Minister instead since his Conservative party had won more seats than King’s Liberals. However, Meighen’s unstable minority coalition government with the Progressives only lasted 3 days! In the election that soon followed, the scandal was soon forgotten and King was a new majority government

The impact of the King Byng Crisis Arthur Meighen was humiliated at the polls with a massive defeat The decision of the Governor General (a representative of the British Monarchy) to reject the will of a Canadian prime minister was a serious challenge to Canada’s sense of Independence After the quick defeat of the Meighen government, Byng, a man widely recognized as a war hero and a wise man of principle was similarly humiliated. In the aftermath of this constitutional crisis, the independence of the Canadian Parliamentary system had been maintained—at the expense of some human dignity To view the correspondance between the two men, click this Link:The King

The Chanak Crisis In 1922, Great Britain asked Canada to get involved in a military dispute between Turkey and Greece over a disputed territory known as “Chanak”. Rather than agree to the request, Mackenzie King said that he would have to take the matter to the House of Commons (which was on summer recess). Canada never did get involved. This event signifies the first time that Canada had rejected Britain’s request to get involved in a military conflict

Canada’s Pacific Coast The Halibut Treaty Canada signed the Halibut Treaty with the United States to protect the Pacific fisheries. This Treaty is important since it signifies the first time that Canada had signed an international treaty on its own without British involvement Before this treaty Canada had always needed Britain to ratify any international agreements that they had made. When Britain found out about the Treaty, they asked to sign it along with Canada, but Mackenzie King refused. Halibut Caught off of Canada’s Pacific Coast

The Balfour Declaration Canada and other nations of the British Commonwealth were officially recognized as: “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." Lord Balfour

The Statute of Westminster December 11, 1931, King George 5th signed the Statue of Westminster: A trade and Military alliance of independent countries under the British Crown. 1931 did mark Canada’s official independence from Britian. However, Canada still needed Britian’s Privy Council as Canada’s final court of Appeal (not the Supreme Court of Canada like today) In addition, any changes to Canada’s Constitution would still need to be passed by Britain’s parliament In saying this, this Statute is very symbolic of Canada’s independence as a nation Signing the Statute of Westminster in 1931