Woke singer JP Saxe changes O Canada lyrics to 'our home ON native land' during World Series

Canadian musician JP Saxe changed the lyrics of O Canada during his performance at Monday night’s World Series game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Saxe replaced the lyric “our home and native land” with “our home on native land.” The alteration is a reference to the Indigenous peoples of Canada, who have long been in conflict with the Canadian government over land rights.

A similar incident happened in 2023. That year singer Jully Black performed O Canada at the NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Utah, and made the same substitution.

“I wouldn’t have sung it if I didn’t believe it should be this,” Black said at the time. “This one word would significantly give honour, support and recognition to the Indigenous community who have often been overlooked.”

Black said she had declined invitations to sing O Canada for several years while learning more about Indigenous communities and reconciliation. She described her edit as deliberate, meant to acknowledge that the land predates Canada as a nation.

The current official version of O Canada was amended by law in 2018 under Justin Trudeau to make it gender neutral. Parliament replaced the line “True patriot love in all thy sons command,” with “True patriot love in all of us command.” The change was enacted through Bill C-210, a private member’s bill that received royal assent on February 7, 2018. The French lyrics were not altered.

O Canada became the country’s national anthem in 1980, though English and French versions had existed for a century before that. The original English lyrics have been modified several times since 1908, but only Parliament can authorize official wording.

Saxe’s version at the World Series is not recognized by the federal government.