Thanksgiving (Canada)

Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is an annual Canadian holiday held on the second Monday in October. It is a time to express gratitude for what one has and for the bounty of the previous year. Families and friends may gather for a feast, take part in religious observance, watch football, or enjoy harvest-related events. Thanksgiving is a statutory holiday in most of Canada, though it is optional in Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, according to the holiday’s documented overview.

Canadian Thanksgiving has connections to historic harvest festivals in Britain and continental Europe. Churches may be decorated with cornucopias, pumpkins, corn, wheat sheaves, and other signs of the harvest. Common foods include turkey, roast beef, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, autumn vegetables, and pumpkin or apple pie. Regional meals may include salmon, wild game, Jiggs dinner, butter tarts, or Nanaimo bars.

Thanksgiving has been officially celebrated as an annual Canadian holiday since 1879, although its date varied in earlier years. From 1931 to 1957, the date was generally set by proclamation; in 1957, Parliament fixed it as the second Monday in October. Earlier accounts of Thanksgiving observances in North America include a 1579 service associated with Martin Frobisher’s fleet, but the claim that it was the first such service on the continent is disputed. French settlers also held feasts of thanks, though accounts connecting these celebrations with local Indigenous participation are described as apocryphal.

How to Observe Thanksgiving (Canada)

Celebrate by gathering with family or friends for a Thanksgiving meal. Prepare or enjoy seasonal favorites such as turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, squash, pumpkin pie, or a regional dish. You can also reflect on what you are thankful for, attend a religious service, visit a harvest event, decorate with autumn produce, or watch the Canadian Football League’s Thanksgiving Day Classic.

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