Downtown Belleville resident’s song goes viral

Downtown Belleville’s own Jeanette Arsenault—who has performed for Queen Elizabeth II and at two Olympic Games—is seeing renewed national attention as her patriotic anthem “This is My Canada,” surpasses half a million views on YouTube.

“I cried out this song out of my soul,” Arsenault said. The song and lyrics were written out of her desire to keep the country together in 1992, over 30 years ago. 

Arsenault said that she went to a library and wrote 30 pages of all the things that Canadians invented, and what Canada is known for.  

“I whittled it down to 15 pages, then five pages. What I tried to do was capture the imagery, the scenery (of Canada),” the singer-songwriter added.

Although she writes most of her songs in English, she included French lyrics to the song in honour of her Acadian roots. 

The song’s lyrics include:

Look to the future, learn from the past / Build today and make it last 

So much to offer, so much to gain / It takes more than one link to make a chain 

So many heroes nationwide So many parts filled with pride 

There’s so much more to share / Let me take you there

Arsenault sang for HRH Queen Elizabeth II in 1992, performed the song at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Games, and at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. 

“The Canadian Olympic Committee commissioned me to write an uplifting song for the Olympic athletes for the Salt Lake City Games,” she said. “I was given three days to write a draft!” 

The song “Canadian Olympian/Olympien Canadien” was eventually recorded onto an Athens Olympics Special Edition CD that also included “This is my Canada/Mon cher Canada”. The CD was handed out in swag bags to all the Canadian athletes in 2004.

As for her viral hit song, Arsenault said that “the song doesn’t belong to me anymore. (It) has grown its wings. It’s ‘the little song that could’’’.

“This is a song for Canada, this is the heartbeat of Canada,” she said.