Source: Shutterstock/Hannamariah

A PLAN TO alter Canada’s national anthem to make it gender neutral has passed the country’s senate.

The bill now awaits royal assent from the governor general to become law.

It will change the line:

True patriot love in all thy sons command

to

True patriot love in all of us command

The fight to change the line has rumbled on for eight years, with Conservatives blocking its passage in 2010.

The new bill had stalled in the Senate as the opposition Conservatives again fought its passage, but it won Senate approval on a voice vote last night.

The change was proposed by late Liberal lawmaker Mauril Belanger, who was diagnosed with ALS and did not live to see it become law.

#Open journalism No news is bad news Support The Journal Your contributions will help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you Support us now

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the move “another positive step towards gender equality”.

Originally written in French, O Canada became the country’s national in 1980. The line was “thou dost in us command”.

The French version does not mention sons.