Editing Politics of Canada (section)

==Context==

Canada's governmental structure was originally established by the [[British Parliament]] through the ''British North America Act, 1867'' (now the ''[[Constitution Act, 1867]]''),<ref name=CA67>[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-1.html ''Constitution Act, 1867''].</ref> but the federal model and division of powers were devised by Canadian politicians. Particularly after World War I, citizens of the self-governing [[Dominion]]s, such as Canada, began to develop a strong sense of identity, and, in the [[Balfour Declaration of 1926]], the British government and the governments of the six Dominions jointly agreed that the Dominions had full autonomy within the British Commonwealth.

In 1931, after further consultations and agreements between the British government and the governments of the Dominions, the British Parliament passed the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]], giving legal recognition to the autonomy of Canada and other Dominions. However, Canadian politicians were unable to obtain consensus on a process for amending the constitution, which was therefore not affected by the Statute of Westminster, meaning amendments to Canada's constitution continued to require the approval of the British parliament until that date. Similarly, the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] in Britain continued to make the final decision on criminal appeals until 1933 and on civil appeals until 1949.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/court-cour/creation/index-eng.asp|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430084251/http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/court-cour/creation/index-eng.asp|url-status=dead|title=The Creation and Beginnings of the Supreme Court of Canada|archivedate=April 30, 2009}}</ref>  It was not until 1982, with the [[Patriation]] of the Constitution, that the role of the British Parliament was ended.