O Canada
Official bilingual sheet music | |
National anthem of Canada | |
| Also known as | French: Ô Canada |
|---|---|
| Lyrics | Adolphe-Basile Routhier (French, 1880), Robert Stanley Weir (English, 1908) |
| Music | Calixa Lavallée, 1880 |
| Adopted | July 1, 1980 |
| Audio sample | |
Instrumental rendition by the Royal Canadian Navy's National Band of the Naval Reserve
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"O Canada" (French: Ô Canada) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French-language words were written by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier.
The original French lyrics were translated to English in 1906.[1] Multiple English versions ensued, with Robert Stanley Weir's 1908 version (which was not a translation of the French lyrics) gaining the most popularity; the Weir lyrics eventually served as the basis for the official lyrics enacted by Parliament.[1] Weir's English-language lyrics have been revised three times, most recently when An Act to amend the National Anthem Act (gender) was enacted in 2018.[2] The French lyrics remain unaltered.
"O Canada" had served as a de facto national anthem since 1939, officially becoming the country's national anthem in 1980 when Canada's National Anthem Act received royal assent and became effective on July 1 as part of that year's Dominion Day (today's Canada Day) celebrations.[1][3]
- ^ a b c "Full history of 'O Canada'". Department of Canadian Heritage. January 5, 2018. Archived from the original on September 12, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ Marshall, Alex (February 9, 2018). "The women who fought to make Canada's national anthem gender-neutral". BBC News. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
- ^ DeRocco, David (2008). From sea to sea to sea: a newcomer's guide to Canada. Full Blast Productions. pp. 121–122. ISBN 978-0-9784738-4-6.