[svandamme]

Sorry, but up till this point I've never had anybody tell me that Canadians in WW1 were not British , or that it's a disservice or offensive thing to them to call them British at the time.

They are listed in all history books as British casualties along with NZ, Australian, Indian, South Africans.

There was only the British Army, there was no such thing as the Canadian Army back then.

Sure, they Enlisted for the Canadian Expeditionary Force, to go fight in the War that was Declared by the British.
Canada was a Dominion of the British Empire at the time and was automatically at war, it did not declare war itself.

And yes they fought as independant "units" because well you sign up in bunches, and they keep you together.. because people fight better if they form a cohesive unit and care for one another.
And it's easier to have similar minded and speaking folks together.. multicultural wasn't much of a word then.

Just as an example
2 out of 3 commanding Generals of the Canadian Corps duringthe War, were Englishmen.

1915–1916 General Sir Edwin Alderson born in Capel St Mary, a village in Suffolk
1916–1917 General Sir Julian Byng born in Wrotham Park, in Hertfordshire,
1917–1919 General Sir Arthur Currie born in Napperton, Ontario,

Now you might have strong nationalistic feelings and what not.
And fair enough if you do.

But the history books are clear, Canada and it's involvement in WW1 was a British thing.

The Commonwealth did not exist until 1931, when the Statute of Westminster 1931 was signed and Canada gained full Parliamentary self governing rights, with the exception of Constitutional law, that only came in the 1980ies.

That British Commonwealth only came about because of the 1926 Balfour declaration, which itself was a follow up from WW1

"... autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations."

Before that, Canada was a British Dominion with limited self governance.
They were not "Free" as they had not fought a war of independence like the Americans had.
The Freedom of British Rule for Canada, the British Commonwealthc and what not is a result of WW1.

But there are no Canadian War Cemetaries here in Flanders.. They are all buried side by side with other British soldiers.
The cemetaries were designed, built and maintained by the Imperial War Graves Comission (later renamed Commonwealth War Graves Comission in 1961)

If we had been talking about WW2, you would have a point.
But in WW1 , Canada was British, Canadians in service were British soldiers.