Canada will soon have a gender-neutral national anthem after the Senate voted on Wednesday to approve new language for "O Canada."
Once the bill receives royal assent and becomes law, the lyrics will officially change from "in all thy sons command" to "in all of us command."
The bill to remove gendered language from the English version of the song has been slowly working its way through Parliament since 2016, when Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger introduced it as a private member's bill.
After overcoming Conservative opposition in the House of Commons, the bill languished in the Senate, where Conservatives used a number of delay tactics to stall a vote. On Wednesday, however, Liberal and independent senators moved to end debate and passed the bill.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called passage of "Mauril's bill" a positive step toward gender equality.
Mauril’s bill to make O Canada gender neutral passed third reading in the Senate tonight - another positive step to… https://t.co/ZmewJe6glr
Bélanger, who was diagnosed with ALS shortly after the last election, died in late 2016. Introducing the anthem bill was one of his last acts in Parliament.
Some people are stoked it finally happened.
Finally! I've been singing, "In all of us command" for at least two decades. I refused the version (which is NOT… https://t.co/P0QBA6Owut
Others were less excited about the change.
#SorryNotSorry but I am NOT changing the way I sing O Canada 🇨🇦 #cdnpoli
"Leave O Canada alone."
No, no, no! How many times have we gone through with this. Leave O Canada alone. https://t.co/bmBElWZV1E
Then again, "O Canada" has undergone a number of transformations over the years.
Canada’s national anthem is now gender neutral. Can’t wait for the postmodern-Marxist-PC-ID-politics-run-amok” take… https://t.co/5zDGx096U9
And ultimately, there's nothing stopping people from singing whatever they want.
everyone knows they can still just sing the old O Canada lyrics and nobody will care right?
Here are the new lyrics:
O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.