By Taryn Donovan
On Jan. 31, Canada passed a bill that makes its national anthem gender neutral. The bill was introduced by Mauril Bélanger, who had introduced the bill twelve other times before its passing. Bélanger had been lobbying to have this bill passed since the 1980’s. It wasn’t until 2015 when he was diagnosed with ALS that his efforts in favor of this change started to gain traction. The bill still needs “formal royal assent” from Canada’s governor general, Julie Payette, before it can officially become a law but that is expected to happen. Unfortunately, Bélanger never got to see his bill become law as he died in August of 2016.
The anthem previously read “O’ Canada!/ Our home and native land/ True patriot love in all thy sons command”.The bill changes the words “in all thy sons command” to “in all of us command”.
Though many people were unhappy with the bill and tried to push against it, it’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time Canada has changed the way its anthem is sung. The anthem was written in 1908 by Robert Stanley Weir. He originally wrote it to read “true patriot love thou dost in us command,” The anthem didn’t read “in all thy sons command,” until 1913.
The change comes just in time for the 2018 Winter Olympics which are being held in PyeongChang County, South Korea. The Canadian Olympic Committee has asked the athletes competing to be aware of the changed lyrics. Whether the athletes remember to sing the anthem differently remains to be seen.
