They have come hither to sing it from Ottawa, which is the Place of Councils, and the sovereign city in this fair house of Canada.
Hither have they come from the tobacco plantations of Essex; the yellow cornfields of Lambton; the luscious peach groves of Kent, and the vineyards of Welland. These are lusty fellows and of fine fibre.
Here are men of consideration from the thick-leaved apple orchards of Nova Scotia and from the dairy steadings of Oxford. Have you never heard concerning the round towers of Oxford which are stacks of grain, and of the herds of black bulls which feed fatly on her meadowlands? Then it is small knowledge you have of this Dominion and the bright fortunes of its people.
Others have joined our chorus who are from mailëd Quebec, which is the eye of Canada; from Montreal, whose traffickers are among the honourable of the earth, and from Niagara, where, with subtle cunning, men have bridled Neptune, the Lord of Waters, and have made his trident into one of fire.
These courtly and free-handed fellows have hailed from Toronto. Beautiful Toronto! The city of work and play. I like well its stately homes and its women with honey-throated voices. And, here where I write at Edmonton under the aurora, these men of the Southern Provinces have assembled with our lads of the North and West who are leather-fleshed and hard-sinewed, but withal, comely. This is Edmonton on the Saskatchewan, which the bow-bearers call by another name, meaning the great river of the plains. This is the stranger-thronged city of the North; the city that has merited a cheer. It is here our glorious Lady of Alberta has placed her throne whereunto all her sons come up that they may pay her tribute of honour.
To this place come the farmer-folk from the wheatlands of the queenly Peace, and the priests and trappers from the Athabasca, which the bow-bearers call by another name, meaning the great river of the woods. And hither come the traders and road builders from the pass between the cleft mountains where, of old, dwelt Jasper of the yellow head; these, and the horse-taming men from young Calgary. We who love games and the glory of them, stand at salute.
These are the men from Winnipeg, the Mother City of the North. Honour upon honour be to her!
Right pleasant is it to present the likely-looking lads of Regina and of the deep soiled plains of Saskatchewan. On the plains, the straight-blowing wind is scented from the grassed headlands dappled with flowers. On the plains, dwell strong, glad men in the joy of their youth. On the plains there lives some common mother of the common weal, who is the ancestress of our kings to be.
These others whom I have held back until now that your attention might not falter, are the dauntless, high-adventuring men who crossed the mountains to where the land lieth soft to the sea. These are the men of the new appointed city of Prince Rupert; the men of the fortunate, fair-built city of Victoria, and those of sure-seated Vancouver. May they build strongly and well. It is seemly that the forefront of our royal House of Canada should be of far-shining splendour.
We have high delight in this Province of British Columbia; in its unshorn hills that are furrowed with rifts of roses, in its fair-watered fruitlands, and in the rice and silk ships that come reeling down its bays. This is a new-peopled land of fostered folk and, of times, men's hearts fail them lest these stranger-guests march not in step with the genius of the race. We who are your sister provinces, O Columbia by the Sea, stretch forth our hands to you and pray you as sentinels to keep our portals straitly, but, notwithstanding, that you be wise in love to all things living.... And, now, to the hither side of the mountains have come these western men of erect spirit to sing with us the song of the North and of Canada.