The Westminster parliamentary model was adopted, with a Governor General representing the Crown, a bicameral Parliament, and responsible government where the executive is accountable to the elected House of Commons. Over time, Canada’s political culture grew distinct from Britain’s, reflecting Canadian realities such as bilingualism, multiculturalism, and Indigenous rights.
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The early 20th century saw Canada gradually assert its independence in foreign affairs, culminating in the Statute of Westminster in 1931. Domestically, politics revolved around questions of regional inequality, linguistic division, and the role of government in social welfare. The 1960s and 1970s brought transformative changes: the Quiet Revolution in Quebec, the official recognition of bilingualism, and the patriation of the Constitution in 1982, which included the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
