What are the origins of the terms use?
A. Though we usually think of 1867 as the year Canada became a “country,” at the time the situation was not so clear-cut. Though the passage of the British North America Act made Canada a self-governing confederation, she was far from being entirely independent. The British Empire and its Imperial Parliament in London still retained a number of key political powers that limited the extent to which Canada could be regarded as truly “sovereign.” Not that this was in any way contrary to the wishes of Canada at the time, however. Most Canadians were content for post-1867 Canada to remain a British colony, albeit a more mature and self-responsible one. “Independence” was a concept that was initially frowned upon, as it implied breaking links to an Empire that the Canadian government still intended to remain a willing participant of. Because Canada’s form of government was a constitutional monarchy under the British (ie, imperial) Queen, the Canadian founders wanted their confederation to be
