The 1902 Colonial Conference followed the conclusion of the Boer War and was held on the occasion of the coronation of King Edward VII.

As with the previous conference, it was called by Secretary of State for the Colonies Joseph Chamberlain who opened it on 30 June 1902.

This proposal, along with Chamberlain's idea for a unified imperial defence scheme, was rejected by most of the colonial prime ministers.

While New Zealand proposed that each colony provide a special force for imperial defence in the case of war, Canada and Australia both believed this idea undermined self-government.

A resolution in favour of imperial preference as proposed by Canada was approved and Chamberlain agreed to bring the idea to the British government.