The constitution wasn't brought to Canada until 1982, when Pierre Trudeau finally "Brought the constitution home." This was an enormous step towards Canada's sovereignty, which took place almost one hundred years after confederation.
In 1949, Newfoundland became the last province to join confederation, and was no longer a British colony. This was an important step towards Canada's sovereignty because the British no longer had direct control over any part of North America following this. During this year, the Supreme Court of Canada also replaced Britain's judicial committee as the final court of appeal. This allowed Canada to make more decisions for itself, and to be even less dependant on Great Britain.
During 1960, the Bill of Rights came into effect. Its purpose was to be "An Act for the Recognition and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms", according to the first line of the statute. It was essential to have a Bill of Rights at the time because the rights and freedoms of citizens (such as the freedom of speech) had to be protected by law. This Bill of Rights was a crucial part in making Canada a more democratic nation. .
Canada's current flag, the "maple leaf" wasn't our national flag until 1965. Prior to this, we still had the Union Jack as a part of our flag, which proved the nation's dependency on the United Kingdom. The maple leaf is a very important symbol of the country that gives the nation an identity just like the stars and stripes of the United States. When people from other countries look at the maple leaf, the first thing that would come to their minds would be Canada due to the distinctness and uniqueness of the symbol.
1982 was probably the most important year towards Canada's sovereignty after confederation. This was because many historic events occurred during this year due to Pierre Trudeau, the Prime Minister at the time. Firstly, he "brought the constitution home" from Great Britain, so that changes to the document would be made in Canada.