Canada's national anthem is now gender neutral

The Senate has passed a bill to make the national anthem gender neutral despite some Conservative senators' opposition. The Senate gave its approval to change the second line of the anthem from "in all thy sons command" to "in all of us command". The legislation will now only need the royal assent of the Governor General before it becomes a law. It must now receive "royal assent" from the governor general before it becomes law.

The move, sponsored by late politician Mauril Bélanger, was praised by prominent Canadians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and "The Handmaid's Tale" author Margaret Atwood. Not everyone is thrilled about the change. The bill passed Canada's House of Commons in 2016, but spent 18 months under debate in the Senate, where it faced opposition from some members of the Conservative Party. After it passed, some criticised the vote.

"O Canada" became Canada's national anthem in 1980, and since then changes to the lyrics have been proposed several times. This is the first time such a proposal has been successful. "Dissapointed [sic] to hear the Liberals changed our national anthem. Some things just shouldn't change," tweeted Conservative Member of Parliament Bob Saroya.

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No. of months the bill was under debate in the Senate

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Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
Mauril's bill to make O Canada gender neutral passed third reading in the Senate tonight - another positive step towards gender equality. #inallofuscommand

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