Canadian Thanksgiving: What is the national holiday and how is it different to American version?

The Canadian version of the seasonal harvest holiday is celebrated the second Monday of October each year

Canadians, similar to their neighbours south of the border, celebrate the autumnal holiday of Thanksgiving, but unlike their US counterparts, their seasonal harvest festivities take place in October rather than the end of November.

This year, Canadian Thanksgiving, which always falls on the second Monday of the month, will be observed on 10 October. 

What is Canadian Thanksgiving?

And though the American version of the holiday dominates popular culture, the Canadian version of the giving-thanks holiday was actually celebrated for the first time in the northern country in 1578, 43 before the Pilgrims did so at the Plymouth Plantation in New England.

Traditions of giving thanks, however, long predate the 1578 Thanksgiving, which was held in what was then Newfoundland but is now modern-day Nunavut. First Nations groups across Turtle Island – a name that Indigenous groups across North America refer to the continent as – had been partaking in celebrations that recognised the end of the crop season for generations before European settlers arrived.

Like their US neighbours, the holiday is often a big occasion for sports fans, with millions of people tuning in to watch Canadian Football League games on television.

When is Canadian Thanksgiving?

Canadian Thanksgiving takes place on the second Monday of October every year, meaning Canadians have a three-day weekend to relax with their friends and family. This year’s celebration is being marked today.

How is Canadian Thanksgiving different from American Thanksgiving?

Canadian Thanksgiving takes place nearly eight weeks before American Thanksgiving, with its US counterpart falling on the fourth Thursday of November.

The Canadian celebration is less commercialised than American Thanksgiving, as there are no major shopping sales such as Black Friday. That being said, most Canadian shoppers and retailers do recognise Black Friday as a holiday on the same day as the US and spend the Thursday and Friday on the American Thanksgiving weekend shopping to score some of the biggest deals before the Christmas season.

Though many Canadians assume that the holiday is a federal statutory holiday, meaning that workers are entitled to a day off without losing earnings, it is only considered one in some parts of the country.

In the Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, the holiday is optional, meaning employees are not entitled to the day off and it’s left to a business’s own discretion.