1. Canada’s Road to Independence
Steps to Autonomy
Canada’s Road to Independence

2. Background William Lyon Mackenzie King became Prime Minister (1921)
One of his goals: move Canada further along the road to autonomy
Defintion: independence, self-government, surviving on one’s own, ruling one self
From two Greek words: auto (self) and nomos (law)

3. The Chanak Affair Event:
After WWI, Turkey and Greece went to war over territory that Greece was given in the peace settlement
British troops were guarding Dardanelles (passage between Black Sea and Mediterranean)
British were based in Chanak, Turkey but Turks wanted to drive them out

4. The Chanak Affair Step to Autonomy:
In Sept 1922, Britain called on Canada to send soldiers to help at Chanak, but King resisted
He said Parliament must decide what to do
In the end: crisis passed, Canada not needed
King’s response told Britain that Canda would no longer automatically agree to its requests

5. Cool Fact
After the Chanak Affair, Canada signed a fishing treaty with the US
This marked the first time Canada had signed its own treaty
This sent a clear message to Britain about Canada’s desire for autonomy

6. The King-Byng Crisis Event:
1926: King decided to call an election but needed the permission of the Governor General Julian Byng (representative of British government in Canada)
Byng refused
King was upset and called it an example of British interference in Canadian affairs
Most Canadians sided with King

7. The King-Byng Crisis Step to Autonomy:
In the end, election was held and King returned to power
Afterward, King made Governor General’s role strictly ceremonial
It was limited to representing the monarch in Canada

8. Cool Fact:
During WWI, Julian Byng was Arthur Curie’s commander at Vimy Ridge and he was honoured with the title Viscount Byng of Vimy by King George V
Byng and his wife were huge hockey fans and in 1925 she donated the Lady Byng trophy to the NHL
It is awarded every year to the player who displays sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct on and off the ice

9. The Balfour Report Event:
Late 1926: countries that were part of the British Empire gathered at an imperial conference in England
They supported a groundbreaking document called the Balfour Report
Declared that Britain and the Dominions (including Canada) were equal in status

10. The Balfour Report Step to Autonomy:
Canada would no longer be a part of the British Empire but rather, they would be a part of the British Commonwealth of Nations (independent, equal in status)

11. Cool Fact
Even though Canada became autonomous, they kept two important ties to Britain:
1. Only British Parliament could change the British North America Act, which was the Canadian Constitution at the time
Privy Council in Britain remained the highest court of appeal. It could still overrule the decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada

12. The Statute of Westminster
Event:
1931: British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster which made the Balfour Report official

13. The Statute of Westminster
Step to Autonomy:
It officially made Canada, Britain’s equal