How Did Vimy Ridge Affect Canada

At Vimy Ridge Canadians proved themselves to be capable fighters, created a Canadian nationalism that had been lacking before, and showed the world that Canada was nation independent from Britain. The global recognition that Canada received for the work of the C.E.F. at Vimy Ridge also changed Canada’s role in the international political community. Due to Canada’s initial role in the world as part of the British Empire, Canada was an ally of Britain from the start and would remain allied with Britain even to today. So, what changed in the relationship between Britain and Canada? Canada had now proved itself to be capable of operating independently. As a result of the successful offensive at Vimy Ridge, other Allied nations now saw Canada as their equal in terms of military skill. The Canadians had demonstrated immense militaristic skill at Vimy Ridge, which is a major part of foreign affairs as a country must be able to defend itself, which gave Canada grounds to argue for more power. Though Canada would not gain control of her foreign policy until the Statute of Westminster, Canada would now be able to negotiate for more power

The first time that Canada independently signed an international agreement was at the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Many historians believe that the success that Canadians experienced at Vimy Ridge was a major contributing factor to this decision, as Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden was able to negotiate with Britain by pointing to the fact that Canada had independently taken the Ridge so why could they not sign the Treaty of Versailles independently? The fact that Canada signed the Treaty independently demonstrates the beginning of a transition from colony to independent nation in the eyes of the international political community – and it all started with Vimy Ridge in