An Imperial Conference in 1926 that included the leaders of all Dominions and representatives from India ( which then included Burma , Bangladesh , and Pakistan ) , led to the eventual enactment of the Statute of Westminster 1931 . The statute , an essential transitory step from the British Empire to the Commonwealth of Nations , provided that existing Dominions became fully sovereign of the United Kingdom and any new Dominions would be fully sovereign upon the grant of Dominion status . Although listed , Newfoundland never ratified the statute so was still subject to imperial authority when its entire system of government and economy collapsed in the mid-1930s . Canada did ratify the statute but with a requested exception — the Canadian federal and provincial governments could not agree on an amending formula for the Canadian constitution . It would be another 50 years before this was achieved . In the interim , the British parliament periodically passed enabling acts with respect to requested constitutional amendments as they arose ; this was never anything but a rubber stamp
Imperial Conference in 1926
1926 Imperial Conference
Constitution of Canada