<P> In June 1990, Toronto City Council voted 12 to 7 in favour of recommending to the Canadian government that the phrase "our home and native land" be changed to "our home and cherished land" and that "in all thy sons command" be partly reverted to "in all of us command". Councillor Howard Moscoe said that the words "native land" were not appropriate for the many Canadians who were not native - born and that the word "sons" implied "that women can't feel true patriotism or love for Canada". Senator Vivienne Poy similarly criticized the English lyrics of the anthem as being sexist and she introduced a bill in 2002 proposing to change the phrase "in all thy sons command" to "in all of us command". In the late 2000s, the anthem's religious references (to God in English and to the Christian cross in French) were criticized by secularists . </P> <P> In the speech from the throne delivered by Governor General Michaëlle Jean on March 3, 2010, a plan to have parliament review the "original gender - neutral wording of the national anthem" was announced . However, three - quarters of Canadians polled after the speech objected to the proposal and, two days later, the prime minister's office announced that the Cabinet had decided not to restore the original lyrics . </P> <P> In another attempt to make the anthem gender - neutral, Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger introduced a private member's bill in September of 2014 . His Bill C - 624, An Act to amend the National Anthem Act (gender), was defeated at second reading in April 2015 . Following the 2015 federal election, Bélanger reintroduced the bill in the new parliament as Bill C - 210 in January 2016 . In June 2016, the bill passed its third reading with a vote of 225 to 74 in the House of Commons . The bill passed its third reading in the Senate with a voice vote on January 31, 2018 and received royal assent on February 7, 2018 . </P> <P> Below are some slightly different versions of the second and third stanzas and the chorus, plus an additional fourth stanza . These are rarely sung . </P>

When was the last time the canadian anthem changed