Editing The Maple Leaf Forever (section)

===Alternative lyrics===

[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] Radio's ''[[Metro Morning]]'' show in [[Toronto]] ran a 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/neighbourhood-grows-trees-from-the-seeds-of-canadas-history|title=Neighbourhood grows trees from the seeds of Canada's history (with video)|date=November 2, 2014|access-date=June 26, 2017}}</ref>

The new version removed all references to British-Canadian heritage, but added a special reference to Quebec's provincial symbol, the [[fleur-de-lis]].

Padre G. E. Benton, a former Canadian army chaplain, also wrote a revised version.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.piddingworth.com/maple_leaf_forever_new.html |title=Maple_leaf_forever_new |access-date=June 17, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002143417/http://www.piddingworth.com/maple_leaf_forever_new.html |archive-date=October 2, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

The Canadian vocal harmony trio "[[Finest Kind]]" (Ian Robb, Ann Downey and Shelley Posen) recorded "The Maple Leaf Forever" on their 2003 CD "Silks & Spices". This version, with new words co-written by Posen and Robb and harmony arrangement by the trio, was sung at the ceremonial planting in Ottawa of two silver maple seedlings: direct descendants of the tree which is thought to have inspired Alexander Muir to write the original song in 1867. The ceremony occurred on November 2, 2014, and was attended by several local dignitaries and military veterans. The words acknowledge the Aboriginal, French, English and "new Canadian" contributions to the evolution of Canada, and highlight Canada's more recent military role as peacekeepers "where hate and war divide". The second verse also references John McCrae's iconic First World War poem "[[In Flanders Fields]]".