William Lyons Mackenzie King not only holds the honour of being Canadas longest serving Prime Minister (1921-1930, 1935-1948), he also holds the distinction of becoming Canadas first official Canadian citizen in 1947. The concept of a Canadian citizen has been an evolving one. Residents of Canada have gone from being colonial subjects to British nationals domiciled in Canada before being able to call themselves Canadian citizens.
For most of its history since the first European settlement, Canada had been a part of a larger Empire (France and Great Britain). Despite the fact that Canada was granted autonomy in 1867 with the British North America Act, it was still not an independent nation. The British government still had authority in issues regarding foreign policy and citizenship was one of them. In the early 1900s, the British government no longer called those residing in Canada as British subjects; instead they became British nationals domiciled in Canada. Canadas participation in major international conflicts helped these British Nationals become Canadians.
As Canada got more involved internationally, Canadians started feeling a greater sense of pride as...