By common consent , the prime ministers of Britain 's self-governing dominions skirted this contentious issue at the 1902 Colonial Conference . The question , however , could not be avoided indefinitely . Frustrated by his repeated inability to persuade Britain to eject France from its possessions in the New Hebrides , the Australian prime minister , Alfred Deakin , arrived in London for the 1907 Colonial Conference determined to change the very basis on which the empire was organized . He proposed that the conference create an Imperial Council that would assume responsibility for the general shape of imperial defence and foreign policy . A secretariat would carry out agreed policy and facilitate communications between meetings . Laurier was unconvinced . Aware that closer imperial relations would inflame French Canadian opinion , Laurier charged the Australian with endangering dominion self-government . The debate raged for days , but Laurier , whom Deakin later denounced for his " fifth-rate part in the Conference " , defiantly stood his ground . For the moment , this fundamental difference over how the empire might be organized precluded close relations . Even the election in 1911 of a Conservative and imperially minded prime minister , Sir Robert Borden , had little immediate impact on Canada 's wary approach to imperial issues . However , the swirling passions that accompanied the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 swept away many Canadian doubts about the value of the Empire . The country plunged into battle alongside Australia and the other overseas dominions . The war revived the debate over imperial organization . This time , Canada and Australia were firmly united in pursuit of identical goals
1902 Colonial Conference
1902 Colonial Conference
Australia–Canada relations