A majority of English-speaking Canadians disagree with changing the text of the country's anthem
A fresh poll shows that there is no clear consensus among Canada's English-speaking population on potential changes to the national anthem.
Last month we wrote about how the initiative to change the words of Canada's anthem quite a bit came about, what those changes were, and the public reaction to that very initiative. In a nutshell, the words "O Canada! Our home and native land!" are proposed to be changed to "O Canada! Our home and native land." And a fresh Research Co. poll has sought the opinions of English-speaking Canadians on the subject. Opinions are divided.
According to the results of the poll, which involved 1,572 people, 41% of English-speaking Canadians are in favor of making changes to the anthem. 44% of respondents were opposed to the changes. The survey also found that 55% of English speakers between the ages of 18 and 34 support the idea of changing the lyrics of "O Canada!". However, among older citizens — in the 35-54 and over 55 age categories — the percentage of those agreeing to modernize the national anthem is lower. 42% and 28% of respondents in these demographic groups agree with the proposed changes, respectively.
"Majorities of English-speaking Canadians of South Asian (68 per cent), Indigenous (64 per cent) and East Asian heritage (51 per cent) endorse the proposed change to the national anthem. AOnly 36 per cent of English-speaking Canadians of European descent concur," reported the president of Research Co. Mario Canseco.
In 2018, the text of the Canadian national anthem in English has already been amended. In particular, the second line was changed from "in all thy sons command" to "in all of us command". And Research.Co decided to find out what English-speaking Canadians think about it today. The poll found that 48% of English-speaking Canadians agree with the change. This is 6% more than in a poll conducted in February 2018. The number of people who disagree with this anthem edit has dropped by 14%, and now stands at 34%. People who are undecided about their opinion on the topic of the poll, however, are now 17%, up 7% from February 2018.
When respondents were asked which of the two versions of the anthem text they preferred — "in all thy sons command" or "in all of us command" — nearly half of English speakers said they preferred the older version (47%; down 7% from 2018), while the "in all of us command" version was preferred by 38% of respondents (up 4% from 2018).
A breakdown by gender shows that men are more likely to favor the previous version of "O Canada!" than women: 52% vs. 43%.
