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Battle of Ypres
Shortly after the Germans had introduced a new weapon (the poisonous gas) which was causing French defence to crumble very easily, Canadians soldiers were sent to help out and fought hard every night to close the gap between the Germans. They did a very good job especially because it was their first major battle fought in the war, this showed how courageous these Canadian soldiers were fighting against poisonous gas. Although there were 6,500 casualties, it showed how strong the Canadians were. -
The Battle of Vimy Ridge
Began 5:30 AM on April 9, 1917. In the third year of the great war, it was the first time the Canadians soldiers were lead by a Canadian in Sir Arthur Currie. He was a very smart leader, in fact, he was the first leader to give his soldiers a map before they attacked. Canadian soldiers advanced behind a "creeping barrage" which was an intense allied artillery fire that moved at a set rate which everyone else followed as well. The Canadian soldiers forced the Germans to withdraw from battle. -
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Chanak Affair
Following the Turkish defeat in the first world war, the armies from the British, French, and Greece tenanted large parts of Turkey under the Treaty of Sevres. British forces who occupied Chanak were threatened by the Turkish troops after they had pushed Greece out of the country. The British King (George Frederick Ernest Albert) thought Canada would send troops to help them, but PM King was cautious about it. When the parliament could address the issue, the crisis in Turkey ended. -
Halibut Treaty
A Canadian-American treaty on fishing rights in the Pacific Ocean
It was the first treaty that the Canadian government signed and negotiated independently. The British really wanted to sign the treaty alongside Canada but PM Lyon Mackenzie stated that the matter only involved Canada and the US, and it did not concern the British imperial interest so they had no reason to be involved. After the Imperial Conference in 1923, the Halibut Treaty was confirmed. -
The King-Byng Crisis
After the federal elections of 1925, The Conservatives won the vote. Mackenzie King refused to turn power over to the Conservatives, so he met with the Parliament decide who should govern. King also asked Julian Byng to make a fresh new election but he refused.
King chose to resign from his job as the PM, which made Arthur Meighen the new PM. King returned challenging the power of Governor-General Byng, in a heated federal election campaign. Eventually, King won the elections and become PM. -
Balfour Report
Although Canada’s federation happened in 1867, the British still had a lot of control over Canada but it seemed that Canada started to gain autonomy. At the Imperial Conference, both Lyon Mackenzie King and J.B.M. Hertzog came up with the Balfour Report (a very important document in Canada’s evolution to a fully self-governed nation). It made the new relationship between Great Britain and Canada and other Dominions. Making these dominions of Britain equal and made Canada gain way more autonomy. -
Statute of Westminster
It was a British law clarifying the powers of Canada’s Parliament and those of the other Commonwealth Dominions, granted their dominions full legal freedom, after 5 years of the request of this law it had finally been passed. Right from the off Canada did not take up all the powers that were granted to them under the Statute of Westminster; not until 1949.
