The King-Byng episode is noteworthy , first , for confirming an important point of Canadian constitutional law - that prime ministers ( and provincial premiers ) can not manipulate the system to avoid the consequences of political scandals and bad decisions ; thereby resolving the constitutional crisis that King had caused by confirming there are times when Governors General and Lieutenant Governors must say ' no ' to their prime ministers and premiers . Much more importantly , however , because King won the subsequent election , he was able to turn his truculence into success at the 1926 Imperial Conference by eliciting the obvious - that upon the grant of dominion status , Canada , Australia , New Zealand , Newfoundland , South Africa , and the Irish Free State , while still part of the British Empire , ceased to be part of the United Kingdom . Thus , the Governor General ceased to represent the British government but was solely the personal representative of the sovereign . This ultimately was formalised in the Statute of Westminster 1931
1926 Imperial Conference
1926 Imperial Conference
William Lyon Mackenzie King