Although officially proclaimed Canada's national anthem in Ottawa on July 1, 1980, "O Canada!" was introduced in Quebec City a hundred years earlier, on June 24, 1880, and was subsequently adopted as the patriotic anthem of French Canadians!

At Confederation in 1867, a national anthem was needed to bind together the young dominion of four provinces. Once again a majority in their territory, French Canadians in turn viewed the new Confederation as a certain recognition of their distinct nationality.

"O Canada!" had won the hearts of French Canadians, who spontaneously sang out its lines in testimony to their love of country. English Canadians took longer to identify with the song, and several English versions were advocated until lawyer Robert Stanley Weir's gained acceptance in 1908.