Canadian Indepedence Essay

In relation to the rest of the world, Canada is a very young country being only 147 years old. We still have ties to Britain today, but the majority of our independence was a by-product of the actions that occurred between 1919 and 1939. The Chanak Crisis, Halibut Treaty, and the Imperial Conference were all major turning points in defining Canada as an independent nation.  

Since Canada was still tied with Britain around the First World War, it was always known that when Britain went to war Canada would go as well. But in 1922 this all changed. When Britain feared that Turkey would try and occupy the port of Chanak and gain easy access to Europe, they immediately sent troops over. Because of past events, it was expected that Canada send troops over to help Britain. However, Prime Minister King made a statement saying that it was the Canadian Government’s decision whether or not to send troops. In the end it was decided that Canada would not send troops over, this marked the first time that Canada refused to do so. This goes to show that Canada wanted to start making decisions for itself and not rely on others to figure out what to do.

When it came to decisions, Canada would normally look to Britain for guidance. Whether it was the right decision or not, Canada would follow through. The Halibut Treaty in 1923 was a dispute over import and export rights of resources along the B.C. Coast. Britain was trying to keep ties with Canada and insisted that they would have the right to sign on any international agreement that involved Canada. Because Canada was slowly emerging as a more independent nation, they felt that they didn’t need the signature of Britain. This caused Canada to threaten Britain by claiming that they would sign the treaty without a British representative, and eventually led to Canada signing the bill on its own. This was the first time the Canadian government had negotiated and signed a bill independently. As you can see, Canada is showing...