The Maple Leaf Forever Guitars are two guitars, one acoustic and one electric, made from the tree that inspired Alexander Muir to write " The Maple Leaf Forever". The guitars are kept in a trust and are loaned to a different musician each year.

History

In 1867 Alexander Muir, a Scottish immigrant, lived on Laing Street in Toronto , Ontario. Following Canada's confederation, a large maple tree on his street inspired Muir to write "The Maple Leaf Forever". The song was used as Canada's unofficial national anthem. ^[1]

In July 2013, a thunder storm destroyed the tree that inspired Muir's song. ^[1] The fallen tree was initially going to become mulch, but due to public outcry its wood was saved and used for projects that would preserve its cultural importance to Canada. ^{[2] [3]} Significant objects made from the tree include the gavel for the Supreme Court of Canada and the speaker's podium for Toronto City Council. ^{[3] [2]} In 2014 Colin Cripps and Craig Scott came up with the idea of making guitars from the tree. ^[3] Cripps also expressed desire for the guitars to be custodial, so that they would be passed from musician to musician instead of being owned by one person. ^[4] After approval by City Council, David Fox was chosen to build the acoustic guitar while Tom Bartlett built the electric. ^[4] The guitars were completed in September 2015.

Custodians of the guitars

Acoustic

• 2016 – Colin Cripps of Blue Rodeo ^[2]
• 2017 – Jason Barry ^[5]

Electric

• 2016 – Paul Langlois of the Tragically Hip ^[3]
• 2017 – Sam Roberts ^[6]
• 2020 - Steve Sladkowski of PUP ^[7]

References