The song's recording was performed by the Young Canada Singers, two groups of children — one that sang the French lyrics, led by Montreal conductor Raymond Berthiaume, and another that sang in English, under conductor Laurie Bower[2] in Toronto.
[4] In 1971, Gimby donated all royalties to the Boy Scouts of Canada, but the song only earned one cent per airplay, which is one of the lowest rates in the world.
Little's version was released in March 1967 on the Allied Records label (AR 6350), one month after the original single.
In recognition of writing the song, Gimby was among the first cohorts of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian award which was established as part of the Centennial.
He was named an Officer of the Order, with "Canada" cited by title as a reason for the recognition.