Well let's see ...

If Canada, our home and native land, is going to command  some sentiment, say, "true patriot love", in us (as opposed to just our sons),  I would suggest that such command or swelling of emotion would arise in the "heart".  Consequently, I would suggest that the anthem lyrics be altered to say ...

"O Canada!  Our home and native land, true patriot love in all our hearts command."

This scans to the music and would not require a change.  

Some might object that the word heart appears in the next line too and that if we were in grade 5 our teacher might criticize our writing for repetition but we have grown past such quibbles and if the Olympics are any indication, "heart" is something Canadian's have in plenty (and so ought their anthem).

However, just so nobody could say I didn't consider wording to avoid the repetition, I thought of having some other body part "glow", "grow" or "swell" but was unsuccessful.  Perhaps the fill in the blanks template below might be helpful in helping others to nail down some better wording ...

O Canada! Our home and native land

True patriot love in all our hearts command 

With glowing blank's we see thee rise ...

naaaah! ... or 

O Canada! Our home and native land

True patriot love in all our hearts command 

With growing blank's we see thee rise ...

naaaah! ... or

O Canada! Our home and native land

True patriot love in all our hearts command 

With swelling blank's we see thee rise ...

See what I mean?  The second line is easy.  Its the following line that puts up the ... uh ... stiffest ... um ... resistance.

However, on second thought if we were, with hearts glowing, contemplating the rise of the true north strong and free, what would it be that our hearts were glowing with but a swelling  pride?

Thus, I would suggest ...

O Canada! Our home and native land

True patriot love in all our hearts command 

With growing pride we see thee rise

The true north strong and free.

For those of you who don't like to have any more change than absolutely necessary we might also view the rise of the true north strong and free with "glowing pride".

So, the Conservative government blocks the media, muzzles MP's, squashes environmentalism, skewers Rights & Democracy (did it again last night folks!!!), lies about finances, raises despicable antisemitism claims against Liberals and Kairos, acts as if intellectual use of brains is silly (sorry for vagueness - I'm referring to the petition by Cdn professors around the country against the 2nd Prorogument)  and on and on and on.

Oh nice!  They're going to rewrite the national anthem.  How pleasant.

 The one that kills me (and strikes me as the most irrelevant and yet most calculated) is the proposed monument to "the victims of Communism".

(For any of you out there who are under 25 and want to know what a Communist is, please go ask your father.)

Maybe we could erect such a monument side by side with a monument to the victims of laissez faire capitalism.

Further ... on the anthem thing.  You can sing it the way you want to right now.  You don't need Mr. Harper's blessing.  Make the government catch up with you, not vice versa.  I've been replacing "sons" with "hearts" in the anthem for quite some time now.  Nobody has come to arrest me yet.  Who knows maybe your version will catch on in the popular imagination?  In Russia the bureaucrats changed the name of Petersburg to Leningrad but everybody kept calling it Petersburg anyway.  Now it is Petersburg again.  Maybe your O Canada will be the same.  If you wait for the Conservative government to strike a blow for gender neutrality it will never happen.  Do not be part of the lumpen proletariat.  Arise, I tell you.  Arise!

The leader of the Communist Party in Saskatchewan lived across the street from me years ago. Nice man; nice family; good neighbours and no politics involved.

  Or

Ton front est cent

De fleurons glorieux.

I could agree with substituting "hearts" for "sons".  I disagree with changing "with glowing hearts" in the next line though.

I somehow feel that's a different sentiment than pride.  Or maybe "pride" feels American to me.....

Hi Qwerty,

Heartist.

Everyone knows sentiment properly rises from the spleen.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Hi match3frog,

That's quite all right.

At least we know the difference between sentiment and sediment.

Grace and peace to you.

John

Yay Somegirl!! We've been hearing that at our house a fair bit lately. 

Brilliant.  Even Mr Lahey was in that video.

or perhaps....

The Arrogant Worms have many options. Here is one:

"It isn't what you do with it, it's the size that counts"

"We're bigger than Australia, and it's a continent" (for Pilgrims Progress)

"Stand up and be pro-ud, and sing out very lo-ud, we stand out from the crowd, cause Canada's really big"

•  
• True patriot love thou dost in us command.
•  
• True patriot love you do in us command.
•  
• True patriot love in all of us command.

I' am sorrey Match. But you know  some one here in canada will put AN ( A) on that U_S_A then we will all be in troubel A.

I like that!

All bets are off.  The bid to change the anthem has been retracted due to overwhelming opposition from the Canadian public.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/03/05/national-anthem.html

Birthstone -- I doubt that's cynicism. 

I've posted a video without words for your listening and viewing pleasure.

 Does it bug anyone else how overwhelmingly negative the reaction to this proposal was?  I mean, O Canada has already been changed - I think 'in all our sons command' was added in 1980-something-or-other, which makes it as much unimpeachable Canadian tradition as, say, the Safety Dance.

I know it's 'politically correct', and I'm no fan of political correctness in its dumber forms - but what possible disadvantage would there be to changing these lyrics?  Has being inclusive, at ALL, just become too uncool now?

shamanwolf- of course we don't have a dictatorship, technically, and of course not all dictatorships have been horrible for all people.  The only thing laissez-faire is Cdn voter approach to Stephen Harper, or perhaps the Liberal party's efforts at rebuilding.  Harper is routinely dictating who says what, how they say it, who doesn't get to say anything, and how he gets to run things.  There are so many examples over the past few years, and so few examples to the contrary (except when he chooses to offer a fake olive branch ie: this National Anthem bullshit) that in some ways, 'dictatorship' is how he is running things.  I am very distressed that Canadians are being laissez faire about what this means to them.

It would have been perfectly fine to change the anthem, although people care about tradition, and don't necessarily understand what creates it.  The fact that they think the anthem is traditional enough to keep means probably that the particular language and images evoked aren't strong enough to really matter.  AND, that Harper used it to create buzz amongst the Cdn voters he is so contemptuous of, while giving his throne speech (just like he pulled nasty stuff on Dec 31 while people were off celebrating) is how he directs his false dictatorship.  

Ok - so communism isn't great, but it isn't inherently evil.  Heck, nothing man-made is inherently evil.  People might be though.

Wow - good comparison gecko!!  The instant I read it, I had a lovely picture of Harper in my head, sawing away at his violin. 

Cynical isn't cynical when the truth mounts up and the evidence is clear.  Call it honest.