Justin Trudeau’s newly elected Liberal government has been praised for overhauling Canada’s approach to immigration, the environment and relations with the First Nations.
Now it is seeking to change the country’s national anthem – but just by four words.
Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger introduced a bill on Wednesday to change two words of O Canada so it recognises the country’s women as well as its men.
If passed, the third line of the anthem will change from “True patriot love in all thy sons command” – to “all of us command”.
“With my bill, I want to pay tribute to all the women who have worked and fought to build and shape the Canada that we know today,” Bélanger said in a statement. “I want to at long last honour their sacrifices and contribution.”
Bélanger, who was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease and can no longer speak, introduced the bill using an iPad speech app. “By the way Mr Speaker, it is 2016,” he said in closing.
Women’s groups have been trying to change O Canada ever since it replaced God Save the Queen as the country’s official anthem in 1980. Ten previous legislative attempts have all failed after opposition from conservatives who have variously called the move “grammatically unnecessary” or pointed out that most Canadian soldiers are male.
In 2010 the change appeared in the government’s legislative programme at the time but was dropped after backlash despite support from prominent figures, including novelist Margaret Atwood.
If the change goes ahead, it will actually be a return to the original English wording: the lyrics were only changed to focus on “sons” in 1914 as a show of support for soldiers fighting in the first world war.
The French version of the anthem does not have a similar problem, instead focusing on how the country’s “brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers”.
Nancy Ruth, a Conservative senator, has long advocated a change. “For women, this will means we are included and valued for our labours in building this country. It means this for all Canadians,” she said.
Beth Atcheson of the Sing All of Us campaign urged parliament to “make the very simple and straightforward change to address a historical anomaly and ensure a gender inclusive anthem before 2017, when Canada celebrates the 150th anniversary of its founding.”
Canada is not the first country to seek to make its anthem more inclusive. In 2012, Austria changed its anthem to recognise its women, while last year Switzerland ran a contest seeking more modern lyrics for its national song.
David Kendall, a Canadian anthem expert who runs the nationalanthems.info website, said he expected the bill to pass, thanks to the Liberal Party’s majority in parliament. “There’s a small number of people here who really want it changed and a small number who don’t,” he said. “But most don’t mind what it says as long as they get to sing it at the hockey.”
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