A new poll indicates most Canadians aren’t on board with changing the lyrics of O Canada from “our home and native land” to “our home on native land,” and that most prefer the “in all thy sons command” lyrics over “in all of us command.”
The polling results come after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau indicated he was open to changing O Canada lyrics amid calls to do so by woke activists.
Polling firm Research Co. asked Canadians if they agreed with the proposal to change the lyrics of the English national anthem from “our home and native land” to “our home on native land.” 44% said they disagreed, while 41% said they agreed.
Support for changing the lyrics was higher among Canadians aged 18 to 34, with 55% being in favour. Forty-two percent of Canadians aged 35-to-54 said they supported changing the lyrics, while just 28% of those aged 55 and over said they supported the change.
Views on the lyric changes also varied among ethnic groups. Sixty-eight percent of South Asian Canadians, 64% of Indigenous Canadians and 51% of East Asian heritage Canadians said they supported the proposed lyric change. Meanwhile, just 36% of English-speaking Canadians of European descent said they supported the change.
The survey also asked Canadians if they preferred the “in all thy sons command” lyrics or the “in all of us command” lyrics introduced in 2018.
47% said they preferred the anthem with “in all thy sons command,” lyrics, while 38% said they preferred the new anthem with “in all of us command.” 15% were unsure.
However, despite preferring the “thy sons” version, 48% of Canadians said they agreed with the modification, while just 34% said they disagreed.
Preference for “in all thy sons command” was higher among men (52%) than women (43%). Support was also higher among Conservative Party voters (67%), compared to Liberal voters (43%) and NDP voters (36%).
In January 2018, Parliament passed legislation introduced by the late Liberal MP Mauril Belanger, which changed the lyrics of O Canada from “True patriot love in all thy sons command” to “True patriot love in all of us command” – to make the national anthem gender-neutral.
That change had received support from Liberal, NDP and Green Party MPs, as well as 11 Conservatives.
The debate over changing the national anthem’s lyrics for a second time was sparked after Canadian R&B singer Jully Black sang “our home on native land” while performing the national anthem at an NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Utah earlier this year.
Black earned praise from woke activists as well as Mississauga mayor and Ontario Liberal Party mayoral candidate Mayor Bonnie Crombie.
Research Co. surveyed 1,572 English-speaking Canadian adults between July 20 to July 24, 2023. They say the data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
