Canada Day celebrates the anniversary of the British North America Act. Now called the Constitution Act of 1867, it mandated the creation of the Canadian Federal Government. You’re listening to the Knickerbocker Quartet in a 1913 recording of The Maple Leaf Forever. The song was written by Alexander Muir in 1867. His inspiration: well, a large maple tree on his property named, well, Maple Cottage, in Toronto. For decades it existed as Canada’s unofficial anthem. O, Canada currently holds that title, but the maple leaf itself has adorned Canada’s flag, since 1965.

So why the maple leaf? According to Prime Minister Paul Martin in a 2005 Canada Day speech, “The maple leaf is a symbol of duty and valor, pride and perseverance, ingenuity, diversity and, of course, global hockey supremacy.” 

To learn more aboot… ahem, about Canada Day, click here!