Patriotic music in Canada dates back over 200 years as a distinct category from British or French patriotism, preceding the first legal steps to independence by over 50 years. The earliest, "The Bold Canadian", was written in 1812.
Canadian anthems National anthem
"O Canada" is the national anthem of Canada. Calixa Lavallée wrote the music in 1880 as a setting of a French Canadian patriotic poem composed by poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. "O Canada" served as one of two de facto national anthems after 1939, officially becoming Canada's singular national anthem in 1980, when the Act of Parliament making it so received Royal Assent and became effective on July 1 as part of that year's Dominion Day celebrations. The national anthem is routinely played before sporting events involving Canadian teams.
Royal anthem
"God Save the King" is the royal anthem of Canada. There are various claims of authorship and several previous songs of similar style, but the first published version of what is almost the present tune appeared in 1744 in Thesaurus Musicus. The song has been used in Canada since the era when it was a collection of British colonies and "God Save the King" (or "God Save the Queen" during the reign of a female monarch) was played in honour of the British monarch. It has remained in use through Canada's progression to independence, becoming eventually one of the country's two de facto national anthems. After "O Canada" was in 1980 proclaimed the national anthem, "God Save the King" has been designated as the royal anthem, played in the presence of the Canadian monarch, other members of the Royal Family, and as part of the salute accorded to the Governor General of Canada and provincial lieutenant governors. It can also be played on other occasions.
Provincial anthems Alberta "Alberta" is the official provincial song of Alberta, adopted in preparation for the province's centennial celebrations in 2005. The song was selected following a competition mandated by the Alberta Official Song Act, introduced in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in May 2001 and passed in November.
Ontario "A Place to Stand, a Place to Grow (Ontari-ari-ari-o!)" is an unofficial anthem of Ontario. The song was written by Dolores Claman, with English lyrics by Richard Morris, French lyrics by Larry Trudel, and orchestrations by Jerry Toth. It was commissioned by the Progressive Conservative government of John Robarts as the signature tune for a movie of the same name that was featured at the Ontario pavilion at Expo 67, the World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, in Canada's Centennial year. It was used again in the Ontario's segment of the short film A Place to Stand, which won the 1967 Academy Award for Live Action Short Film.
Québec "Gens du pays" has been called the unofficial national anthem of Quebec. Written by poet, songwriter, and avowed Quebec nationalist Gilles Vigneault (with music co-written by Gaston Rochon), it was first performed by Vigneault on June 24, 1975, during a concert on Montreal's Mount Royal at that year's Fête nationale du Québec ceremony. It quickly became a folk classic, and it has been played frequently at Fête nationale ceremonies since then. The chorus is by far the most famous part of the song: Gens du pays, c'est votre tour / De vous laisser parler d'amour, which, translated, says, "Folks of the land, it is your turn to let yourselves talk of love." At this time, Vigneault invited Quebecers to use this song when someone celebrate a birthday, changing "Gens du pays" by "Mon cher (name)...". In many families, this song can be heard when the cake approaches.
"Ô Canada! mon pays, mes amours" is a French-Canadian song, written by George-Étienne Cartier first sung in 1834, during a patriotic banquet of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society held in Montreal. The words were first published in the June 29, 1835, edition of La Minerve and its music in Le Chansonnier des collèges in 1850; it is uncertain when the lyrics and music were put together, probably by Ernest Gagnon sometime between 1850 and 1868. The music currently used was composed by Jean-Baptiste Labelle.
New Brunswick New Brunswick does not have an official or popular unofficial anthem, though the instrumental fiddle tune St. Anne's Reel, popular in Eastern Canada, Ireland, and the bluegrass music of the United States has been offered.
Nova Scotia Though without official anthem, "Farewell to Nova Scotia", a popular folk song from the province, is often considered equivalent to an anthem for Nova Scotia or the Maritimes as a whole. It is a rendition of the 1791 Scottish folk song "The Soldier's Adieu", printed in 1803 in a Glasgow newspaper and attributed to Robert Tannahill. When Nova Scotians began to adapt the song is unknown. In the 1930s, folklorist Helen Creighton collected versions of the folk song from different communities along the eastern shore of Nova Scotia.See also her book Traditional Songs from Nova Scotia, 1950 The song had a resurgence when Halifax CBC TV show Singalong Jubilee used Catherine McKinnon's version as the title theme.
Prince Edward Island "The Island Hymn" is the official provincial anthem of Prince Edward Island. The hymn's lyrics were written in 1908 by Lucy Maud Montgomery, with music written by Lawrence W. Watson. It was performed for the first time in public on May 22, 1908. The manuscript music, dated October 27, 1908, and correspondence relating to it are displayed at Green Gables House, Cavendish. The Island Hymn was adopted as the provincial anthem by the legislative assembly on May 7, 2010. The Provincial Anthem Act includes a French version of the Island Hymn, adapted by Raymond J. Arsenault of Abram-Village and called L'hymne de l'Île.
Newfoundland and Labrador "Ode to Newfoundland" is the official provincial anthem of Newfoundland and Labrador. Governor Sir Cavendish Boyle composed it in 1902 as a four-verse poem entitled Newfoundland.Volume four, p. 168, Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, . It was set to the music of British composer Sir Hubert Parry, a personal friend of Boyle, who composed two settings. On May 20, 1904, it was chosen as Newfoundland's official national anthem (national as a self-governing Dominion of the British Empire on par with Canada). This distinction was dropped when Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949. Three decades later, in 1980, the province re-adopted the song as an official provincial anthem.
Early patriotic songs "The Bold Canadian", also known as "Come all ye bold Canadians", is a Canadian patriotic song that originated during the War of 1812. The lyrics celebrate the Canadian conquest of Detroit in the Michigan Territory. It is believed that the song was written by a private from the Third York Militia's First Flank Company named Cornelius Flummerfelt. Until 1907, the song was only passed on in oral traditions, with a few different versions gaining popularity. Full versions of the song were not published until 1927 when the Ontario Historical Society published two different versions of the song. A third version was published in 1960. All three varied, with different stanzas and order of stanzas.Hickey p.351
"The Maple Leaf Forever" is a patriotic song written by Alexander Muir in 1867, often considered to be an unofficial anthem.LAC. "Canadian Confederation" the Web site of Library and Archives Canada, January 9, 2006 () includes a bibliography It was in consideration for the official national anthem; however, due to its strongly pro-British and Anglo-Celtic lyrics, and as no French version was ever published, the anthem was unpopular with French Canadians, thus preventing it from official recognition.Canadian Musical works 1800–1980 a bibliography of general and analytical sources. Ottawa : Canadian Association of Music Libraries, 1983. () Conversely, "Vive la Canadienne" is a Francophone patriotic song, derived from "Par derrièr chez mon père", a French folk song, which was widely used as an unofficial national anthem by French-Canadians until the adoption of O Canada. Both songs, however, remain closely associated with Canadian identity and are occasionally publicly performed in patriotic settings, such as when The Maple Leaf Forever was performed at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics,Michael Buble at Closing Ceremony. youtube.com and Vive la Canadienne was played by bands as a tribute to care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
La feuille d'érable (the maple leaf) is a patriotic French-Canadian song written by Albert Viau for a song book named La bonne chanson. The maple leaf being, originally, a symbol of the French-Canadians adopted in 1834 by the St-Jean Baptiste Society. It is also used even today as a pre-game anthem in Theatrical Improvisation leagues across Québec.
Popular patriotic songs
"Something to Sing About" is a patriotic song written by folk singer Oscar Brand in 1963 that sings the praises of the many different regions of Canada. It was used as the theme for Let's Sing Out, a folk music show that aired on CTV and CBC and was the theme song for the Canadian pavilion at Expo 67, and there was once a movement for it to chosen as Canada's national anthem in 1965.
Canadiana Suite is a 1964 Canadian jazz album by pianist and composer Oscar Peterson. Each song is inspired by his travels through Canada, ordered geographically from east ("Ballad to the East," about the Maritimes) to west ("Land of the Misty Giants," the Rockies). Peterson described the album as "my musical portrait of the Canada I love." Canadiana Suite was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008.
"Canada", also known as "Ca-na-da", "The Centennial Song", or "Une chanson du centenaire" in French, is a 1967 marching-style song written by Bobby Gimby to celebrate Canada's centennial year and Expo 67. It was commissioned by the Centennial Commission (a special Federal Government agency), and written in both of Canada's official languages, English and French. The song's recording was performed by the Young Canada Singers, two groups of children – one that sang the French lyrics, led by Montreal conductor Raymond Berthiaume, and another that sang in English, under conductor Laurie Bower in Toronto. The musical score was composed by Ben McPeek. The single went on to be the most successful single in Canada in 1967, selling a then unprecedented 270,000 copies. It was No. 1 for 2 weeks on the RPM Top 100 Singles in Canada in April 1967.
"Canadian Railroad Trilogy" is a Canadian folk song by Gordon Lightfoot describing the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. This song was commissioned by the CBC for a special broadcast on January 1, 1967, to start Canada's Centennial year. It appeared on Lightfoot's The Way I Feel album later in the same year. Lightfoot re-recorded the track on his 1975 compilation album, Gord's Gold, with full orchestration (arranged by Lee Holdridge). A live version also appears on his 1969 album Sunday Concert. Additionally, the song was covered by John Mellencamp, George Hamilton IV, and James Keelaghan who performed the song on the Lightfoot tribute album, Beautiful. In 2001, Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" was honoured as one of the Canadian MasterWorks by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada.