did not survive World War II. Decline Support for imperial federation waned with World War I which produced greater feelings of national identity in several dominions, Canada and Australia in particular. Defence concerns and problems of imperial cooperation were partially resolved through the system of colonial or Imperial Conferences and with growing sentiments by various dominion governments for greater independence resulting in the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster 1931. It was last discussed seriously at the governmental level at the 1937 Imperial Conference where it was dismissed. The idea of Imperial unity was carried on after World War I by Lionel Curtis and the Round Table movement, which continues to this day as a forum and promoter of the Commonwealth of Nations and also by the Royal Commonwealth Society which continues to promote the Commonwealth. In recent years, following the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union, many of the concepts behind the Imperial Federation have found a new life within the CANZUK movement. Critics sceptical of the CANZUK movement make the argument that "distance and the size of trading partners matter more than historical links in determining trading relationships between countries". Conversely, advocates argue that technological advances now make it possible to fly from the United Kingdom to Australia in under 24 hours, seriously overcoming the limitation of distance which hampered the idea a century ago. They remark that internet and the ability to instant message/call the other side of the world has greatly increased the connectivity between these four countries. In August 2018 the Canadian Conservative Party proposed a CANZUK Treaty which aims to achieve free trade in goods and services, visa-free travel arrangements, reciprocal healthcare, increased consumer choice, increased travel protection and security co-ordination between the four countries. The CANZUK treaty has some political support in the minor political parties of other CANZUK countries, with the New Zealand ACT Party, the British Unionist Party, and the UK Libertarian Party all explicitly stating their support for CANZUK. The Australian Liberal Democrats have not referenced CANZUK directly but have stated support for policies which align with the aims of CANZUK. See also Round Table movement Commonwealth free trade Federalism Political union Supranational union External association References Further reading Agnew, Christopher Mack. 1980. The Failure of the Imperial Idea in Canada. PhD thesis, University of Delaware. Ewart, John Skirving. The Kingdom of Canada: Imperial Federation,