Canadian carrier construction and treaty loopholes

Could Canada have built treaty-loophole aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy?

No; Dominion fleets counted within the British total, and Canadian yards were not equipped to build carriers at the time.

The naval treaties counted the Royal Navy and Dominion navies together, specifically preventing Britain from transferring nominal ownership to evade limits. This common accounting helps explain why Australia could not simply retain its battlecruiser outside the British total. Canada also lacked yards with the size and complex-warship experience needed for carrier construction in the interwar period. A Canadian carrier program therefore required both different treaty rules and much earlier investment in naval shipbuilding capacity.