June 24, 2024, 8 p.m. The whole country is behind the Edmonton Oilers. Quebec included. We fervently hope that they bring the Stanley Cup home, to the country of which Mr. Stanley was governor general – 31 years of exile is enough.
The game is held in Florida. The national anthems are sung by Alanis Morissette, a native of Ottawa. She sings theO Canada. The suspense begins. Every time the Canadian national anthem is sung in the National Hockey League, somewhere other than Montreal, we always wonder if we will hear a few words in French. Most of the time, it’s no. In the sixth game of the series, played in Edmonton, the anthem was sung in English only. This time, there is room for hope. Alanis Morissette’s father is a Franco-Ontarian, and it’s St. John’s Day, a good reason to greet the Francophones of the best country in the world.
The finale arrives:
God keep our land glorious and free
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
Well then. Better luck next time. Alanis continues with the American anthem. Go, Oilers, go! Anyway.
It is all the more ironic that the national anthem was sung that evening only in English, because it was created for Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, on June 24, 1880. It is a French-Canadian patriotic song with lyrics by Adolphe-Basile Routhier and music by Calixa Lavallée. It was not until the middle of the 20th century that the national anthem was sung in English.e century that English Canadians put aside the Maple Leaf Forever to adopt the version of theOh Canada translated into English by Robert Stanley Weir.
During the visit of King George VI to Ottawa in 1939, it wasO Canada which sounded to greet him, consecrating this song as the anthem of Canada. A law adopted by the Canadian Parliament in 1980 did so officially.
An amendment must be made to this law: the national anthem must be sung, at all times, in the country’s two official languages. So. It’s simple. It’s clear. It’s precise.
PHOTO NATHAN DENETTE, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Edmonton Oilers fans at the Stanley Cup final in Florida on June 24
We don’t have to be there, during each of its performances, wondering if the organizers will do us the favor of including a few words in French in our anthem. When we sing it in English, we have to include a passage in French. When we sing it in French, we have to include a passage in English.
It’s not a Drake song, it’s a national anthem, for God’s sake, it has to reflect the country it represents. We can’t sing it however we want. By silencing the language of those who created it.
It is wonderful that Canada is open to all cultures, but it is scandalous that it denies that of one of the peoples at the origin of its existence.
Dear Canadian friends, this time, we are not telling you “keep your English”, we are telling you “keep our French”, it is part of theO Canada. Forever. Without French speakers, theOh Canada does not exist.
An anthem serves to unite citizens, not divide them. During Euro matches, it is touching to see players and supporters fervently singing their national anthems. If we want theOh Canada gives us the same chills during the Copa América, it must be sung in the language of Alphonso Davies and that of Maxime Crépeau. That’s what’s beautiful.
The federal election is on the horizon, I will have a strong leaning towards the party that promises to makeOh Canada a bilingual anthem, always to be interpreted as such. Let’s take it for granted! Let us take it for granted!
The match in all this? The Oilers lost 2 to 1. The Cup remains in the United States. If Alanis had finished theOh Canada in French, it might have brought luck to the Edmonton national team. After all, the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup, the national anthem was sung in both languages. Like it should be.
Happy Canada Day, everyone! Or Happy Moving Day! It depends, or it’s both.