O Canada

"O Canada" (French: Ô Canada) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French-language words were written by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier.
The original French lyrics were translated to English in 1906. Multiple English versions ensued, with Robert Stanley Weir's 1908 version (which was not a translation of the French lyrics) gaining the most popularity; the Weir lyrics eventually served as the basis for the official lyrics enacted by Parliament. Weir's English-language lyrics have been revised three times, most recently when An Act to amend the National Anthem Act (gender) was enacted in 2018. The French lyrics remain unaltered.
"O Canada" had served as a de facto national anthem since 1939, officially becoming the country's national anthem in 1980 when Canada's National Anthem Act received royal assent and became effective on July 1 as part of that year's Dominion Day (today's Canada Day) celebrations.
==Hockey==
According to research done by hockey historian Eric Zweig, God Save the King was performed prior to the opening game for the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 4, 1917.
This refers to the baseball team in the International League, not the NHL.
On Dec. 26, 1918, one of the first (if not the first) instance of a national anthem being performed before an NHL game happened. It was in a game between Ottawa and Toronto.
By 1930, the tradition of an anthem before a game seems to be more commonplace in the NHL. There is a picture of the Boston Bruins and Montreal Maroons standing together for an anthem.
In 1946, the NHL mandated that home teams could honour their country with the anthem before a game. A decade later, both the Canadian and American national anthems were sometimes performed before games.
It was not until 1987 that it was mandated that both the Canadian and American national anthems be performed before an NHL game.
 
"O Canada" is routinely played before sporting events involving Canadian teams. Singers at such public events often mix the English and French lyrics to represent Canada's linguistic duality. Other linguistic variations have also been performed: During the opening ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, "O Canada" was sung in the southern Tutchone language by Yukon native Daniel Tlen. At a National Hockey League (NHL) game in Calgary, in February 2007, Cree singer Akina Shirt became the first person ever to perform "O Canada" in the Cree language at such an event.
The NHL's Buffalo Sabres play both anthems (along with the Star Spangled Banner) before every home game, regardless of the opponent, in recognition of the team's significant Canadian fanbase.
On December 16, 2023 the Winnipeg Jets had the national anthem sung in a bilingual English and Pujabi verision, apparently being the first time it was done this way.
Category:History of ice hockey