Canada became a Dominion within the British Empire after Confederation in 1867.
The British North America Act, 1867—now called the Constitution Act, 1867—created the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867. It united the Province of Canada with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick under a federal system. The word “Dominion” reflected the act’s language and signalled self-government while retaining allegiance to the British Crown.
Dominion status did not mean Canada was a republic or an independent country in the modern legal sense. Canada controlled its domestic affairs through its own Parliament and governments, but Britain still handled important constitutional and foreign-policy matters. Canada’s autonomy expanded gradually, especially through the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and the Constitution Act, 1982.
A common mix-up is calling Canada a colony after 1867. Canada inherited colonial ties and was not fully sovereign at Confederation, but its constitutional designation was a Dominion—not a protectorate, republic, or ordinary colony.