"Our home on native land": Canadians split on changing national anthem lyrics
Canadian R&B singer Jully Black’s modified version of “O Canada” has had a profound impact on viewers across the country.
In February, Black changed a single word in the lyrics of Canada’s national anthem at the NBA All-Star game, and it got mixed reactions from Canadians.
“O Canada! Our home on native land,” she sang, rather than the traditional lyrics, “our home and native land.”
Many voiced their support for the singer, but there was just as much hate directed at her.
A new survey released by Research Co. reveals just how divided Canadians are on updates to “O Canada.”
According to the online survey, which was conducted from July 20 to 24, 41% of English-speaking Canadians would agree to change the first line of “O Canada” from “our home and native land” to “our home on native land,” while 44% disagree.
The report found that over half (55%) of younger respondents ages 18 to 34 agree with modifying the lyrics, while only 28% of those ages 55 and over would support the change.
Research Co.’s survey is also broken down by ethnicity.
“Majorities of English-speaking Canadians of South Asian (68%), Indigenous (64%) and East Asian heritage (51%) endorse the proposed change to the national anthem,” said Mario Canseco, president of Research Co. “Only 36% of English-speaking Canadians of European descent concur.”
“O Canada” has already gone through an update. In 2018, the lyrics to the English version of the national anthem were changed from “in all thy sons command” to “in all of us command” to promote gender inclusivity.
Even that lyric split the country, with 48% of English-speaking Canadians agreeing with the modification, while 34% disagreed.
Whether the lyrics are officially changed in the future or not, Black was honoured in April for making an impactful change to the national anthem.
During an interview on The Brandon Gomez Show, Black explained why she chose to sing the anthem the way that she did.
“I didn’t change the anthem; I spoke the truth. That’s it. It wasn’t written correctly,” she said. “How about that? Let’s go back to the songwriter.”
With files from Irish Mae Silvestre and Al Sciola
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