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There has been a long string of failed attempts to make the national anthem gender-neutral, but this time it looks like it's actually going to happen. A bill to change the words of "O Canada" overwhelmingly passed its first vote in the House of Commons Wednesday evening by a count of 219-79. The bill still needs to go through study and a couple more votes before getting final approval. But after receiving support from every present Liberal and NDP MP Wednesday, as well as a handful of Conservatives, its chances seem extremely good.

Conservatives who voted for the bill to change the national anthem - Peter Kent, Michael Chong, Len Webber, Deepak Obhrai, Michelle Rempel.

Proponents of the bill say it restores the anthem's original, gender-neutral lyrics, though that's not entirely correct. The original anthem contained the line “True patriot love thou dost in us command.” In 1914 the line was changed to "in all thy sons command." Instead of bringing back "thou dost," Bill C-210 changes the words a more modern "in all of us command."

Salvatore Sacco / The Canadian Press Images