Canada did not get independence from Great Britain in 1867. It was established as a Dominion, that is to say a self-governing colony. From then on Canada's autonomy gradually increased until it became formally independent under the 1931 Statute of Westminster. The rationale for granting local autonomy to far-flung colonies was that it reduced the administrative burden on Westminster and encouraged these areas to provide for their own defence etc.

Ireland is a very different situation because the British government did not view it as a colony, but as an integral part of the United Kingdom. The monarch had claimed to be King (or Queen) of Ireland since Henry VIII had become the first to do so in 1542, until Ireland was formally annexed under the 1800 Acts of Union. And of course, Ireland was not some distant territory halfway across the globe but part of the British Isles. It sent members to Parliament, it was governed by all the same laws, and so forth. So the idea of Irish independence met with considerably more resistance in London, because it was viewed as part of the same country rather than (like the colonies) property to be disposed of at will.

How independent was Canada? Was Canada like Australia, where the British could desolve its government like it did in the 1970s?