Dismissing Vimy as a step in Canada's nationhood is short-sighted and not supported by any objective look at the legacy of WW1. The "win" at Vimy is only part of the story, and arguably, not even the most important one. That all Canadian divisions fought together, under the command of a Canadian general also plays a role. Prior to that, at Ypres, Canadians were branded "stormtroopers" for holding the line against waves of chlorine gas. Canada's contributions to the British war effort supported Borden getting Canada a seat at the Versailles talks. Would the 1921 Statute of Westminster (giving us control over our own foreign affairs) become reality without our WW1 contribution? Women likely would have not won suffrage in federal elections without the conscription crisis.

Canada was already a complicated country by the time WW1 arrived, and became a divided one during the war. But it is hardly "semi-truth" to assert that Vimy marked our growth as an independent nation.