1949年，纽芬兰自治领（现在是纽芬兰与拉布拉多）加入加拿大联邦。加拿大的经济快速增长，与逐渐亲近的北美土地感情，随之带来加拿大人更强烈的自我认同，标志事件为1965年枫叶旗的采用，加拿大独有的英法融合移民文化，也开始了1969年的双语政策以及1971年多元文化政策的实施。
社会福利政策也被重新提起，例如医疗保险、退休金计划以及学生贷款等，但在其他省政府，尤其是魁北克和艾伯塔的省政府都十分反对这些政策，他们认为联邦政府推行这些政策会侵犯到他们的管辖范围。
在1982年前，英属北美法一直承担着加拿大实质宪法的角色，而再经过数次修宪会议之后，1982年《加拿大宪法》正式制定施行，加拿大终于拥有自己的一套宪法，并同时见证加拿大权利与自由宪章的诞生。
1999年，在因纽特人与联邦政府争取之下，努纳武特从西北地区独立，成为加拿大第三个地区。
与此同时，20世纪60年代在魁北克掀起的寂静革命深深影响了该省的社会和经济，并掀起了魁北克民族主义运动。信仰马克思主义的极左翼恐怖组织魁北克解放阵线策划了多次恐怖袭击，其中最严重的事件为在1970年发生的十月危机。1976年，主张魁北克独立的魁北克人党赢出大选，并在1980年就魁北克应否独立而进行全民公投，但以失败收场。1990年，各省为了安抚魁北克民族主义而尝试通过米奇湖协定修改宪法，但未能通过。作为回应，魁北克成立联邦政党魁人政团，西加拿大成立加拿大改革党。1995年，魁北克人党再次进行全民公投，但以只有49.4％的得票率失败。1997年，加拿大最高法院裁定省单方面宣布脱离联邦是违宪，随后，加拿大国会通过清晰法案，规定在魁北克全民公决中所提出的问题足够明确且得到明显多数的支持时，魁北克便可以与加拿大政府进行脱离联邦的协商程序。
除了魁北克主权问题之外，在80年代末至90年代初也发生一些震撼加拿大社会的事件。其中包括在加拿大历史上最大的一场屠杀，印度航空182号班机空难；1989年的蒙特利尔工程学院大屠杀；还有在1990年的奥卡危机，加拿大政府第一次与原住民团体发生冲突的事件。加拿大也参加1990年的波斯湾战争，并积极参与维和任务，包括在前南斯拉夫的维和行动。加拿大在2001年支持出兵阿富汗，但当美国邀请加拿大加入伊拉克战争时，加拿大拒绝。2009年，加拿大的经济遭受经济大衰退影响，但现已开始恢复。2011年，加拿大军队参加由北约领导的武装干涉利比亚内战。
The financial crisis of the Great Depression had led the Dominion of Newfoundland to relinquish responsible government in 1934 and become a crown colony ruled by a British governor. After two bitter referendums, Newfoundlanders voted to join Canada in 1949 as a province.
Harold Alexander at desk receiving legislation
Governor General the Viscount Alexander of Tunis (centre) receiving the bill finalizing the union of Newfoundland and Canada on March 31, 1949, at Rideau Hall
Canada's post-war economic growth, combined with the policies of successive Liberal governments, led to the emergence of a new Canadian identity, marked by the adoption of the Maple Leaf Flag in 1965, the implementation of official bilingualism (English and French) in 1969, and the institution of official multiculturalism in 1971. Socially democratic programs were also instituted, such as Medicare, the Canada Pension Plan, and Canada Student Loans, though provincial governments, particularly Quebec and Alberta, opposed many of these as incursions into their jurisdictions.
Finally, another series of constitutional conferences resulted in the Canada Act, the patriation of Canada's constitution from the United Kingdom, concurrent with the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Canada had established complete sovereignty as an independent country, although the Queen retained her role as monarch of Canada. In 1999, Nunavut became Canada's third territory after a series of negotiations with the federal government.
At the same time, Quebec underwent profound social and economic changes through the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, giving birth to a secular nationalist movement. The radical Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) ignited the October Crisis with a series of bombings and kidnappings in 1970 and the sovereignist Parti Québécois was elected in 1976, organizing an unsuccessful referendum on sovereignty-association in 1980. Attempts to accommodate Quebec nationalism constitutionally through the Meech Lake Accord failed in 1990. This led to the formation of the Bloc Québécois in Quebec and the invigoration of the Reform Party of Canada in the West. A second referendum followed in 1995, in which sovereignty was rejected by a slimmer margin of 50.6 to 49.4 percent. In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession by a province would be unconstitutional and the Clarity Act was passed by parliament, outlining the terms of a negotiated departure from Confederation.
In addition to the issues of Quebec sovereignty, a number of crises shook Canadian society in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These included the explosion of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, the largest mass murder in Canadian history; the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989, a university shooting targeting female students; and the Oka Crisis of 1990, the first of a number of violent confrontations between the government and Indigenous groups. Canada also joined the Gulf War in 1990 as part of a U.S.-led coalition force and was active in several peacekeeping missions in the 1990s, including the UNPROFOR mission in the former Yugoslavia.
Canada sent troops to Afghanistan in 2001, but declined to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. In 2011, Canadian forces participated in the NATO-led intervention into the Libyan Civil War, and also became involved in battling the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq in the mid-2010s.