What is the first line of Canada's National Anthem?

Discover Canada records this in the anthem's full text. The guide writes: O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the true North strong and free!. The opening line the test wants is therefore O Canada! Our home and native land!

The phrase encapsulates Canadian identity. Discover Canada's opening line names Canada as both "home" (a current shared place) and "native land" (a place of birth and rooted belonging). For Canadian-born citizens, both terms apply directly; for naturalised Canadians, the line marks their adopted country with the same language of belonging.

Other lines flesh out the anthem's meaning. Discover Canada includes the full English text: "True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the true North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee." So the anthem builds from the opening declaration of home to a longer expression of patriotic love, geography ("the true North strong and free"), and a final pledge to "stand on guard for thee."

The anthem itself has a longer history. Discover Canada writes that "O Canada was proclaimed as the national anthem in 1980. It was first sung in Québec City in 1880. French and English Canadians sing different words to the national anthem." So the English text starting with "O Canada! Our home and native land!" is one of two language versions of the same melody. Both are sung at Canadian official events and public gatherings.

The question is testing whether new citizens recognise the first line of Canada's national anthem. Discover Canada commits to one phrase: "O Canada! Our home and native land!" The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each pick a different line or different song. "True patriot love in all thy sons command!" is the second line of O Canada, not the first. "The Maple Leaf Forever" is a separate Canadian patriotic song, not the national anthem. "God Save the Queen" is the Royal Anthem, not the national anthem. Only the first line of O Canada matches.