William Lyon Mackenzie King

:Not to be confused with William Lyon Mackenzie, Mackenzie King's grandfather.

Canadian autonomy

Throughout his term, King led Canada from a colony with responsible government to an autonomous nation within the British Commonwealth. During the Chanak Crisis of 1922, King refused to support the British without first consulting parliament, while Conservative leader, Arthur Meighen, pronounced "ready, aye, ready". The British were disappointed with King's response, but this was the first time that Canada had really asserted an independent foreign policy. After the King-Byng Affair, King went to the Imperial Conference of 1926, and argued for greater autonomy of the Dominions. This resulted in the Balfour Declaration, which announced the equal status of all members of the Commonwealth of Nations, including Britain.

Related Topics:
Chanak Crisis - 1922 - Arthur Meighen - Imperial Conference - 1926 - Dominions - Balfour Declaration - Commonwealth of Nations

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In the lead up to World War II, King played two roles. On one hand, he told English Canadians that Canada would no doubt enter war if Britain did. On the other hand, he and his right hand man Ernest Lapointe told French Canadians that Canada would only go to war if it was in the country's best interests. With the dual messages, King slowly led Canada towards war without causing strife between Canada's two main linguistic communities. As his final step in asserting Canada's autonomy, King ensured that the Canadian Parliament made its own declaration of war on the day after Britain.

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