‘Now is the time’ for song

Woman with Island roots wants her song to be part of Canada’s birthday celebrations

When Jeanette Arsenault was a little girl, she idolize her aunt Angèle Arsenault.

“I wanted to be just like her. My aunt Angèle was my hero. I went to all of her shows. I remember watching her write songs, and she was so meticulous that sometimes she would spend a week on one line.”

In 1992, Arsenault got her chance to be just like her aunt, an iconic Island musician from Abram-Village.

“It was during the Quebec referendum. One day I decided to make a list of all the reasons I thought Quebec should stay in Canada and all the reasons I was proud to be Canadian and make it into a song.

“I had 30 pages. How was I supposed to fit that into a song? Eventually I was able to get it into 15 pages – a bit longer than three minutes.”

Arsenault titled the song “This is my Canada, Mon cher Canada” which she performed at various international stages like the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Today, Arsenault is trying to launch her song nationally since she didn’t get the chance when she wrote it.

“With Canada’s birthday coming up I thought now is the best time.”

In January, Arsenault launched a GoFundMe page asking people to join Dream Team Canada.

“With this launch I wanted to have the song newly recorded by various Canadian singers and songwriters. Within six weeks I had raised $10,000 and we’re still going.

“I’m hoping this could become Canada’s national song that could compliment our national anthem, because you can’t mess with that national treasure.

“We have a great national anthem. It’s a unifying and rallying song. But I think there is room for as many songs as it takes to allow people to express their pride in Canada.”

The new recording, with proceeds from its sales going to local charities, will be available in English, French, bilingual and the bonus instrumental performance track versions.

“When I wrote this song, I wanted to evoke a feeling in people. I tried choosing words and phrases that weren’t about a particular moment in history but were timeless, so the song can still resonate as time goes on.”