

A slightly modified version was officially published for the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation in 1927, and gradually it became the most widely accepted and performed version of this song. In 1926, a fourth verse of a religious nature was added. Weir's lyrics from 1908 contained no religious references and used the phrase "thou dost in us command" before they were changed by Weir in 1913 to read "in all thy sons command". In fact, many made English translations of Routhier's words however, the most popular version was created in 1908 by Robert Stanley Weir, a lawyer and Recorder of the City of Montreal. Powell McCulloch, but her version never gained wide acceptance. The house where Lavallée lived in Quebec City in 1878įive years later, the Whaley and Royce company in Toronto published the music with the French text and a first translation into English by Thomas Bedford Richardson and, in 1908, Collier's Weekly magazine held a competition to write new English lyrics for "O Canada". "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. Weir's lyrics have been revised three times, most recently when An Act to amend the National Anthem Act (gender) was enacted in 2018. Multiple English versions ensued, with Robert Stanley Weir's version in 1908 gaining the most popularity, eventually serving as the basis for the official lyrics enacted by Parliament.

The original lyrics were in French an English translation was published in 1906.

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 words were written by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. " O Canada" ( French: Ô Canada) is the national anthem of Canada. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols. This article contains special characters.
