There will be a few tearful moments for the family of Mauril Bélanger, when 17-year-old Martina Ortiz-Luis belts out O Canada on July 1 from the big stage on Parliament Hill.
It will be the first time the national anthem is sung at the annual Canada Day festivities with the newly added lyric, “in all of us command.” The words officially became part of the song when a private member’s bill, drafted by Mr. Bélanger, was given Royal Assent in February. They replace the line “in all thy sons command” to make the anthem gender neutral.
Mr. Bélanger, a former Liberal MP, died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in August of last year.
The revisions to O Canada were the final act of his career in federal politics that spanned more than two decades. His friends and family say it will be impossible to get through this year’s Canada Day rendition without emotion.
Ms. Ortiz-Luis, who is travelling to Ottawa with her parents from their home in Woodbridge, north of Toronto, says she is extremely proud to be singing the new version of the anthem.
“I am just greatly honoured that this will be the first time [the revised version is sung on Canada Day], and I am grateful that I was the one chosen to do it,” she said in a telephone interview.
Hockey fans across the country, and especially those in Toronto, are already familiar with Ms. Ortiz-Luis’s extraordinary talent. For the past two seasons, she has been the official anthem singer at Maple Leafs’ home games.
She started singing at the age of three. At 12, she was the host of a program on Rogers TV called Music in My Hood. When she was 14, she flew to Manilla, the birthplace of her parents, to compete in the Philippines version of the hit TV show The Voice and made it to the sing-off round.
Ms. Ortiz-Luis sends chills down the spine of listeners when she hits the high notes of O Canada, and has been singing the new version at Leafs’ games for several months.
But “Canada Day is special. It is a great day to celebrate the history and the successes of our amazing country. My parents decided to move here to have a better life. For me, I was born here. But I am so thankful that my parents made that decision,” said Ms. Ortiz-Luis.
“I think it is going to be a really different, fun experience,” she said. “And I am really proud that, being on CBC, people all across Canada will get to watch me sing.”
The original lyrics, which were written by Judge Robert Stanley Weir in 1908, included the line “thou dost in us command.” That was changed by Mr. Weir in 1914 to “in all thy sons command.”
There have been many attempts, over the years, to revise the song to make it more inclusive. None were successful until Mr. Bélanger’s bill, which was tabled in the Commons in 2016.
One person who will be watching the Canada Day broadcast is Catherine Bélanger, his widow.
“I am so looking forward to it,” said Ms. Bélanger. “Obviously I am very pleased for him and proud of him. It’s a lovely legacy, having all of us included. As a woman, I am delighted.”
She had hoped that the changes would become law last year, in time for Canada’s sesquicentennial. But they were held up for a year and a half by Conservative senators who introduced amendment after amendment to delay the legislation’s passage.
“We didn’t get 150, but 151 is the future, so that is how I am looking at it,” said Ms. Bélanger. “This will be super special because he [Mr. Bélanger] was such a big Canadian. I will be very emotional and touched, and he will be with me.”
MPs sang the new gender-neutral lyrics to O Canada in the House of Commons on Wednesday, after the change became law. Heritage Minister Melanie Joly says Canadians are already welcoming the revised anthem.
The Canadian Press