Canadian independence Santiago, Daniel, Jillian

Introduction Today we will be talking about five key points in history that all greatly impacted the journey towards Canadian independence. The events covered in this presentation are: the Chanak Crisis, the Halibut Treaty, the Statute of Westminster, the King-Byng Crisis, and the Imperial Conference and the Balfour Report. Hope you enjoy!

Causes The real question is why Canada decided to seek independence from Britain? -After 1867, the date of Confederation, English Canadians still considered themselves British. - a self governing is what Canada claim with the British Empire And now we are going to say some of the reasons and events that happened to cause this (This is a Canadian stamp, clearly showing how English Canadians identified themselves as part of the British Empire.)

Chanak Crisis In August 1922, Mackenzie king refused Britain’s call for support when British occupation troops were threatened by nationalist Turks during the Chanak Crisis. Chanak was a Turkish port controlled by Britain as a condition of the treaties signed at the Paris Peace conference. Britain saw that turkey was threat and they sent a telegram to Canada, asking them to send troops to support them. Canadian prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King responded by informing the British government that parliamentary approval would be required before troops would be dispatched from Canada. Canada refused to help, and it was a clear signal for Britain that the Canadian government would pursue an independent foreign policy.

The Halibut Treaty In 1907 Canada began to negotiate its own commercial treaties, but all were signed by the British ambassador to Canada. That changed when, in 1916, the British Columbian government learned that halibut stocks were declining and negotiations over a treaty between Canada and the United States had just failed due to British involvement, so prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie king decided to push for greater Canadian autonomy. In March 1923, King demanded to sign the Halibut Treaty alone, without a British counter signature, and the treaty was signed and ratified in 1923. This was the first treaty negotiated and signed by only Canada, independent of Britain. (William Lyon Mackenzie King, campaigning in Quebec in 1926)

King-byng crisis Fearing of loss all political power, King decided to call an election before he lost support. However, when he asked Governor General Lord Byng to dissolve Parliament, Byng refused, believing King should have resigned sooner. King subsequently resigned, forcing the election which returned him to office. The public appeared to blame Byng and Conservative leader Arthur Meighen for the sudden election. (Governor General Lord Byng)

ICBR (IMPERIAL CONFERENCE AND THE BALFOUR REPORT) The 1926 Imperial Conference was where Canada made the greatest progress towards becoming independent of Britain. At this conference, the dominions of the British Empire requested formal recognition of their autonomy, the freedom to govern themselves. (Colonies in dominion of Britain.- Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Irish Free State)

Statute of Westminster Canada had been pushing to become independent from Britain for many years and, after the recommendations of the balfour report became law in 1931 when the Statute of Westminster was passed by Britain, which turned them from part of the British Empire to the British Commonwealth, they finally had independence. With this statue the commonwealth countries free and equal states that shared an allegiance to British Crown. Canada was now a country equal in status with Britain and could make its own laws. However, Canada’s constitution and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council both remained in Britain. (O.D. Skelton (standing right) and Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, major figures in Statute of Westminster agreement)

Canada and United States After they gained independence from Britain they got closer to the United States. During that period close to a million Canadians moved to the U.S. in search of better job opportunities. Canada’s economy was very dependent on the U.S. Many people started to be influenced by American culture, most canadians listened to American radio-stations, watched Hollywood films, and drove American-designed Model T Fords. The National Hockey League became Americanized as smaller cities were unable unable to compete following the inclusion of U.S. teams. On the other hand many canadians were very concerned about American culture and economic domination so they started to protect their identity.

Bibliography Anderson, Matthew B. "The Halibut Treaty." The Paris Peace Conference :: Canadian Autonomy. Accessed March 07, 2019. https://canadianautonomy.webnode.com/the-halibut-treaty/. Hillmer, Norman, and Jeff Scott. "Halibut Treaty." The Canadian Encyclopedia. February 7, 2006. Accessed March 07, 2019. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/halibut-treaty. Hillmer, Norman. "Statute of Westminster." The Canadian Encyclopedia. March 7, 2006. Accessed March 07, 2019. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/statute-of-westminster. Tattrie, Jon. "Balfour Report." The Canadian Encyclopedia. February 6, 2006. Accessed March 07, 2019. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/balfour-report.