When Great Britain first applied for membership to the EEC in 1961, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders were shocked. Their ‘mother country’s’ turn towards Europe threatened them in many ways. On the one hand, Great Britain represented each of these countries’ largest economic market, and new potential new barriers to trade were seen as a threat. On the other, the move shook the former dominions’ cultural identity and self-image, generating a fundamental insecurity: had their British ‘mother country’ lost interest in its imperial family? The situation at British airports in the early 1970’s exemplified the anger, disappointment, and disbelief felt by Australians, Canadians and New Zealanders at the new system of order: while Europeans were now allowed to enter Britain easily, they now had to wait in a queue along with other international travellers reserved for foreigners. At the same time, some people saw the situation as a positive development. Younger people in particular, as well indigenous groups and self-identified nationalists, did not see Britain’s withdrawal as a threat, but rather as an opportunity to find and develop their own identity independent of Britain and the Empire.

Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians had always seen themselves as an integral part of the British world and felt closely connected to British culture and traditions. The experiences of their British ancestors as settlers in a remote land – supposedly far from the social inequalities that dominated Great Britain – had a long-term impact: many citizens of these countries even felt that they were “better Britons”. Starting in the 1960s, however, this self-perception began to face a crisis. As their British identity became ever more fragile, many were forced to confront the question of who they were as a people and as a nation. Others saw an opportunity to create new social and national identities by focusing more on the distinctive characteristics of their respective countries. After all, didn’t Aboriginals also live in Australia? Wasn’t there always a special relationship between the white immigrants and the Māori in New Zealand? And wasn’t Canada unique in its proximity to the USA and with its French minority in Quebec?

As a New Zealand newspaper told its readers in 1973, the British government and overall circumstances made one thing clear: Britain was no longer a reliable partner! Even though most New Zealanders would continue to feel a very special relationship with their British ‘mother country’, it was nevertheless time to develop an independent New Zealand identity. Ten years prior, the Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt had described his country’s situation in almost exactly the same terms. Australia had to learn, quite suddenly and surprisingly, to behave like an ‘adult’ nation. And in Canada as well, new concepts of identity that were independent of the ‘old’ British-influenced ideas were in high demand. People felt an urgent need for action in Canada in particular, as both the strong influence of its US neighbour and secession attempts by French-speaking Québec seemed to indicate that the very survival of the nation was at stake. In all three countries and for the up to this point culturally excluded groups in particular, concepts of multicultural identity became increasingly attractive, as they promised a solution to the identity crisis.