Steps to Autonomy

1. 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