Canada National Anthem — O Canada

"O Canada" is a gentle, proud hymn to the country and its landscape. It addresses the nation directly as "our home and native land" and calls for "true patriot love in all of us" — a phrase made gender-neutral in 2018, replacing "in all thy sons command".

The imagery is of the vast north — "the True North strong and free" — and the repeated vow to "stand on guard for thee" gives the anthem its quiet, protective patriotism. It is less martial than many anthems, closer to a shared promise of loyalty and love of country.

Calixa Lavallée composed the music in 1880 for a Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day celebration, originally with French lyrics by Adolphe-Basile Routhier. Robert Stanley Weir wrote English words in 1908. After decades of unofficial use, "O Canada" was proclaimed the official national anthem on 1 July 1980; the English lyrics were amended to "in all of us command" in 2018.

Sung daily in schools and before sporting events, "O Canada" is bilingual in official use, often performed switching between English and French. Its 2018 gender-neutral amendment reflected a modern, inclusive Canada while keeping the anthem's familiar warmth.

"O Canada" is the national anthem of Canada, one of the best-loved of all national anthems. The melody was written by Calixa Lavallée in 1880; the English words are by Robert Stanley Weir (1908), and an official French version also exists.

It became the official national anthem in 1980. Both music and lyrics are in the public domain (the English words were lightly amended to gender-neutral wording in 2018).