Is Canada an independent sovereign country?

Canada is an independent sovereign country.

National sovereignty is the most important attribute of a country and the inherent right of a country to handle its internal and external affairs independently in international law.

According to the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933), the requirements of a sovereign state are:

1. Permanent population

2. Fixed area

3. Effective government

4. Ability to communicate with other countries

From this definition, we can see that Canada fully meets the conditions of a sovereign country.

Let's look at the history of Canada.

The aborigines in Canada are Indians and Inuit in the Arctic (collectively known as Canadian aborigines), who lived in Canada at least 10,000 years ago. Around 1000, Europeans first came to Canada. At that time, the Viking leader leif ericson (Eriksson with a red beard) from Northern Europe once established a village in Newfoundland, Canada, but the settlement was soon submerged by Indians. More lasting colonial activities began with the French in16th century and around17th century.

In this land called New France, there was a continuous war between the French colonists and the British colonists, which ended in the victory of the British colonists. 1763 The Paris Peace Treaty officially made Canada a British colony. After the American Revolution, many British royalists immigrated to Canada. After the adoption of the British North America Treaty, the British government established the Canadian Federation in July, 1967, and allowed it to be autonomous, which was jointly ruled by British and French colonists. The Westminster Act of 193 1 and the Canadian Constitution of 1982 gradually consolidated Canada's independent status.

Canada has a federal system, a parliamentary system and a constitutional monarchy. The head of state is a Canadian monarch and a British monarch, and is currently Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen's representative in Canada is the Governor General of Canada. The governor does not belong to any political faction. His duties are to approve bills in the name of the monarch, read the monarch's speech, sign state documents, announce the convening or dissolution of the National Assembly, and other state duties. The monarch (through the governor) is only a nominal head of state. Some of his real powers are reserved for use in times of crisis, such as the right to declare war.

After World War II, the British Empire ceased to exist and was replaced by the Commonwealth. Before the establishment of a federal state, members of the Commonwealth were sovereign independent political entities. After joining the Federation, although it no longer has completely independent sovereignty, the sovereignty of federal members is still protected by law within the scope stipulated by the federal constitution. Specifically, they have the following rights (but not necessarily all) (1) to amend the constitution (2) to maintain regional integrity (3) to have their own nationalities (4) to join and quit.

As can be seen from the above, Canada is not a British colony now, but an independent Commonwealth country. Have almost complete sovereignty. Dominion is a special national system under the colonial system of the British Empire, which can be said to be the last step towards independence. In the19th century, all autonomous or semi-autonomous British colonies, especially those with their own constitutional systems, such as Canada and Australia, were called dominions. They all evolved from directly administered colonies or autonomous colonies into dominions. According to the Constitution Act (1867), all British North American colonies formed a single dominion of Canada, and the Canadian Constitution has always been based on this British law. Although Canada is an internationally recognized independent country, this special dominion relationship existed until 1982, when the Canadian Parliament passed the new constitution and the British Parliament passed the Canada Bill 1982, ending the British power to amend the Canadian Constitution, and Canada truly achieved independence. The last British dominion disappeared from history. Canada also renamed July 1 Dominion Day as Canada National Day.