It was a simple tweak — just two words.
But with that, Canada just voted to turn its national anthem O Canada gender neutral, delighting liberal lawmakers and infuriating conservatives.
The offending line — “in all thy sons command” — was switched to “in all of us command.”
“Mauril’s bill to make O Canada gender neutral passed third reading in the Senate tonight — another positive step towards gender equality,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted.
The Canadian anthem was composed by judge and poet Robert Stanley Weir in 1908.
His original did not include the offending line, which was added by Weir after World War I to reference the men who lost their lives in battle.