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Lesson 8 of 8Canada, 1914–1929
Unit 2 · Lesson 8 of 8

Growing Autonomy: From Versailles to the Statute of Westminster

How Canada moved from being automatically at war in 1914 to controlling its own foreign policy by 1931: the separate signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the Chanak Crisis, the Halibut Treaty, the King–Byng Affair, the Balfour Declaration and the Statute of Westminster, and how imperialists, nationalists and Indigenous nations saw these changes.

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Key things to remember

  1. 11914: Canada was automatically at war when Britain declared war; by 1939 Canada decided for itself.
  2. 21919: Canada signed the Treaty of Versailles separately and joined the League of Nations.
  3. 3Chanak Crisis (1922): King said Canada's Parliament would decide whether to send troops; Halibut Treaty (March 2, 1923): first treaty Canada negotiated and signed on its own.
  4. 4King–Byng Affair (1926): Byng refused King's request for an election; King won the September 1926 election and argued the governor general must follow the advice of Canada's government.
  5. 5Balfour Declaration (1926): Britain and the dominions were "equal in status"; Statute of Westminster (December 11, 1931) made this law.
  6. 6Amending the constitution stayed in British hands until patriation in 1982.

In August 1914, Canada went to war because a government in London decided it should. In September 1939, Canada's own Parliament debated the question, and Canada declared war a week after Britain did (see the next unit). What changed in between? There was no revolution and no single declaration of independence. Instead, Canada gained autonomy, the power to govern itself, including in foreign affairs, through a series of steps: a treaty signed here, a refusal there, a constitutional quarrel, an imperial conference and finally a British law. This lesson climbs that staircase one step at a time.

Toward control of Canada'sown foreign policy1919Paris PeaceConferenceCanada getsits own seatand signs theTreaty ofVersaillesseparately;joins theLeague ofNations.1922ChanakCrisisBritain asksfor troopsagainstTurkey; PMKing saysCanada'sParliamentwill decide.1923HalibutTreatyWith the US:the firsttreaty Canadanegotiatesand signs onits own.1926King–ByngAffairGovernorGeneral ByngrefusesKing'srequest foran election;King wins the1926election.1926BalfourDeclarationBritain andthe Dominionsare declared“equal instatus,” notunderBritain.1931Statute ofWestminsterBritish law:Canada makesits own lawsand foreignpolicy.(Changing theconstitutionstayed inBritain until1982.)
Fig 1A staircase toward Canadian independence in foreign policy: the Paris Peace Conference and Canada's separate signing of the Treaty of Versailles (1919), the Chanak Crisis (1922), the Halibut Treaty (1923), the King–Byng Affair (1926), the Balfour Declaration (1926) and the Statute of Westminster (1931).

Wartime foundations

The war gave Canada leverage. In 1917 Robert Borden joined an Imperial War Cabinet in London, and at the Imperial War Conference that year he and South Africa's Jan Smuts won approval for a resolution calling for full recognition of the dominions as autonomous nations with an adequate voice in foreign policy. At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Borden won separate representation, Canadian delegates signed the Treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919), and Canada joined the League of Nations in its own right. Canada's status was still in between: its delegates' names were grouped under the British Empire, and Britain still spoke for the Empire in most matters.

The steps of the 1920s

StepWhat happenedWhy it mattered
Chanak Crisis (September 1922)Turkish forces threatened British troops at Chanak (Çanakkale) in Turkey. Britain asked the dominions for troops; Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King replied that Canada's Parliament would decide. Conservative leader Arthur Meighen said Canada should have answered "Ready, aye ready". The crisis passed without fightingCanada openly refused to commit automatically to a British military action, a clear break with 1914
Halibut Treaty (March 2, 1923)A Canada–US agreement to protect halibut stocks in the North Pacific. King insisted that Canada's Minister of Marine and Fisheries, Ernest Lapointe, sign alone, without a British co-signerThe first treaty Canada negotiated and signed entirely on its own
Imperial Conference (1923)King opposed a single imperial foreign policy decided in LondonEach dominion would make its own foreign policy decisions
King–Byng Affair (1926)Facing a censure vote over a customs scandal, King asked Governor General Lord Byng to dissolve Parliament and call an election. Byng refused and asked Meighen to form a government, which lost a confidence vote within days (July 2, 1926). In the election of September 14, 1926, King won after arguing that a British-appointed governor general should not overrule an elected Canadian prime ministerClarified that the governor general should act on the advice of Canada's government, not as Britain's agent
Balfour Declaration (November 1926)The Imperial Conference declared Britain and the dominions "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another", united by a common allegiance to the CrownRecognized in principle that Canada was equal to Britain, not under it; the governor general now represented the Crown, not the British government
Diplomatic posts (1927 onward)Canada opened its own legation in Washington (1927), with Vincent Massey as its first minister, followed by legations in Paris (1928) and Tokyo (1929)Canada began to conduct its own diplomacy abroad
Statute of Westminster (December 11, 1931)A British law making the Balfour principles legal: Britain could no longer pass laws for a dominion unless asked, and dominion laws could no longer be struck down for conflicting with British lawsCanada gained legal control over its own laws and foreign policy, except for amending its constitution (see below)
Steps toward Canadian autonomy, 1922–1931.
Loading interactive…
Explore events from 1914 onward filtered by theme, including the steps to autonomy from Versailles to the Statute of Westminster, then put them in order in quiz mode.
What the Statute of Westminster did not do
Because Ottawa and the provinces could not agree on how to amend the constitution themselves, the power to amend the British North America Act stayed with the British Parliament, at Canada's request. Appeals to the Privy Council in London continued until 1949. Canada brought its constitution fully home only with patriation in 1982.

Perspectives on autonomy

AImperialist perspective
  • Held mainly by many English Canadians and by Conservatives such as Arthur Meighen.
  • Saw Canada's strength and identity as part of a united British Empire.
  • Believed Canada should stand with Britain in a crisis ("Ready, aye ready").
  • Feared that drifting from Britain would leave Canada under American influence.
BNationalist perspective
  • Held by Mackenzie King's Liberals, by many French Canadians and by nationalists such as Henri Bourassa.
  • Wanted Canada's own Parliament to make decisions about war and treaties.
  • Remembered the costs of 1914–1918 and the conscription crisis of 1917.
  • Saw autonomy as a way to avoid being drawn into Britain's imperial conflicts.
An Indigenous perspective
Many First Nations understood their treaties as agreements with the British Crown, nation to nation. As power shifted from London to Ottawa, some leaders asked whether Canada could act alone on promises made by the Crown. Deskaheh's 1923 appeal to the League of Nations, in the same years Canada was asserting its own international status, shows that sovereignty was being claimed by more than one nation within Canada's borders.
Continuity and change: evolution, not revolution
Canada's independence came gradually and peacefully, by negotiation and precedent rather than by war. Notice what changed (who controlled treaties, war decisions and laws) and what stayed the same (the monarch, membership in the Commonwealth, and, until 1982, the British role in amending the constitution).

Worked examples

Reveal one step at a time and try to beat it to the next line.

Example 1
Explain why the Chanak Crisis was a turning point in Canada's foreign policy.
Example 2
Explain the King–Byng Affair and its significance for Canadian autonomy.
Example 3
Assess which single step was most significant for Canadian autonomy between 1919 and 1931.

Where marks get lost

  • Saying Canada became fully independent in 1867 or in 1919. Confederation created a self-governing dominion; foreign policy independence came gradually, legally in 1931, and the constitution was patriated only in 1982.
  • Thinking the Balfour Declaration of 1926 was a law. It was a political statement; the Statute of Westminster (1931) made it law.
  • Confusing this Balfour Declaration (1926, about the Empire) with the 1917 Balfour Declaration about Palestine. They are different documents.
  • Assuming every Canadian wanted more autonomy. Many English Canadians, including Conservative leader Arthur Meighen, valued close ties with Britain.
  • Thinking Byng broke the law. A governor general does have reserve powers; the affair changed the convention (the expected practice) about using them, not the written law.

Flashcards 8

Autonomy
Chanak Crisis (1922)
"Ready, aye ready"
Halibut Treaty (1923)
+ 4 more

Practice

1
Put these steps toward Canadian autonomy in chronological order.
  1. 1The Balfour Declaration
  2. 2The King–Byng Affair
  3. 3The Statute of Westminster
  4. 4Canada signs the Treaty of Versailles
  5. 5The Chanak Crisis
  6. 6The Halibut Treaty
2
Why was the Halibut Treaty of 1923 significant?
3
Match each event to its significance.
Chanak Crisis
King–Byng Affair
Balfour Declaration
Statute of Westminster
4
How many years passed between Canada being automatically at war in 1914 and the Statute of Westminster in 1931?
years
5
Which prime minister told Britain during the Chanak Crisis that Canada's Parliament would decide?
6
Which power did Canada still NOT have after the Statute of Westminster?
7
Arthur Meighen's statement that Canada should have answered "Ready, aye ready" during the Chanak Crisis best reflects which perspective?
8
What 1931 British law gave Canada and the other dominions legal control over their own laws and foreign policy?
9
What did the Balfour Declaration of 1926 state about Britain and the dominions?

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