Thanksgiving Day

Days of thanksgiving were proclaimed in the Canadian colonies for many different reasons, including harvests, military events, royal occasions and the end of epidemics. The often-repeated story of Martin Frobisher holding a thanksgiving in 1578 is one strand of this history, but it does not represent a single origin for the modern holiday. Indigenous peoples had also held harvest and gratitude ceremonies long before European arrival.

After Confederation, the federal government proclaimed a national Thanksgiving in 1879, although its date and stated purpose changed from year to year. From 1921 to 1931, Thanksgiving and Armistice Day were observed together on the Monday of the week containing November 11. The arrangement satisfied neither holiday’s supporters and was eventually separated.

A 1957 proclamation fixed Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October and linked it to gratitude for the harvest. The earlier date reflects Canada’s northern growing season and distinguishes the holiday from U.S. Thanksgiving in November. It is a federal general holiday, though provincial statutory status is not uniform. Family meals, autumn travel and football now sit alongside religious and agricultural themes.