It is inspiring that the national anthem of Spain is one of the few in the world to have no official lyrics. Canada could define the national anthem to have just "O Canada", and let the rest of the anthem to be free for anybody to individually customise, in English, in French or in alternate English and French.
Each Canadian could pick lyrics from a list of recommendations, or create his/her own lyrics and sing the anthem with pride. "O Canada" embodies the fundamental core values of the country, and it is even bilingual. Such flexibility would provide maximum satisfaction for all Canadians, accommodating both "don't mess with the anthem" people and "it's about time" people.
Many people sing modified lyrics anyway, such as replacing "in all thy sons command" with "in all of us command". There should be no problem with replacing any other parts of the present anthem or just humming to suit the philosophy of each individual, as long as "O Canada" is included. The integrity of the anthem would be preserved in the ubiquitous tune and the bilingual "O Canada".
