[jayswin]

Originally Posted by troutman

Buble turned me on to The Maple Leaf Forever:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maple_Leaf_Forever

Muir was said to have been inspired to write this song by a large maple tree which stood on his property: Maple Cottage, a house at Memory Lane and Laing Street in Toronto. The song became quite popular in English Canada and for many years served as an unofficial national anthem.[2][3] Because of its strongly British perspective it became unpopular amongst French Canadians, and this prevented it from ever becoming an official anthem, even though it was seriously considered for that role and was even used as a de facto anthem in many instances.[4]

CBC Radio's Metro Morning show in Toronto ran a controversial contest to find new lyrics for the song in 1997. The contest was won by Romanian immigrant, mathematician, and now a songwriter, actor and poet, Vladimir Radian, who came to Canada in the 1980s. This version received its first full orchestral treatment on June 27, 1997, at a concert by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

The new version removed references to British colonialism and the Union Flag, but added a reference to Quebec's provincial symbol, the fleur-de-lis.

During the final game of the Toronto Maple Leafs at their former home stadium, Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Anne Murray sang another version (modified from Radian's version) of the Maple Leaf Forever to the crowd. This version was also used by Michael Bublé during the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony:

.....and new sig time.