What did immigrants to Canada promise before that?
Canadian citizenship was created in 1947. Before that people in the independent countries of the Commonwealth and Empire were simply subjects of the King. In 1950 this unity was broken when India became a republic. About the same time individual states of the Commonwealth began to create separate citizenship for their countries. Canada did so in 1947. Prior to 1947 immigrants to Canada simply took the Oath of Allegiance to become Canadians. The Oath of Allegiance is “I swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her Heirs and Successors, according to law”. From 1947 to 1977 they took the Oath of Allegiance for Purposes of Citizenship, an adaptation of the Oath of Allegiance provided in the Citizenship Act of 1947. It was “I swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her Heirs and Successors, according to law, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen”.