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League of Nations
The League of Nations was an organization founded by forty-two countries, including Canada, after the Paris Peace Conference whose goal was to unite countries and maintain world peace. The league is significant to Canada's relationships with other countries because our efforts in the war proved us to be a strong nation independent from Britain. Representing ourselves within the League of Nations strengthened our ties with the rest of the world. -
Chanak Incident
The Chanak incident was an early example of Canada looking to obtain autonomy. Britain called upon its Dominions to send naval troops to assist in Chanak, Turkey, to protect a strait near the Black Sea. The prime minister at the time, Mackenzie-King, said he would have to consult Parliament before Canada would assist. This action told Britain that Canada was no longer going to war whenever Britain requested and was a sign of growing independence. -
The Halibut Treaty
The Halibut Treaty was an agreement between Canada and the United States regarding halibut stocks. Canada made the decision of negotiating the treaty with no British official present, which happened after a great argument with Britain. Prime minister Mackenzie-King argued that this issue was Canada's alone thus not needing interference from any British officials as all past agreements involving Canada had. This treaty was then the first Canada had signed independently. -
Balfour Declaration
The Balfour Declaration was signed at the Imperial Conference of 1926, and its main purpose was the creation of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The declaration stated that the Commonwealth and its members were dominions of the British Empire and were autonomous and equal with one another and Britain. Although these nations, including Canada, had autonomy and equal status they all still aligned with the Crown. -
Canadian Embassies
In 1926, Vincent Massey was appointed as Canada's first minister the the United States, shortly after, in 1927, Canada's first ever embassy was created in Washington D.C. In 1928, two more Canadian embassies were opened in Brussels, Belgium and Paris, France. Opening embassies was a sign of autonomy and allowed for Canada's relationships with other countries to grow independent of Britain. -
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Creating Embassies
1927: First embassy created (Washington D.C.)
1928: Next two embassies created (Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium)
