Thanksgiving in Ontario 2025

“A Long Weekend of Thanks: Thanksgiving in Ontario!“

Thanksgiving in Ontario arrives right when the province seems to glow from the inside out. Maples flare red, birch and beech turn to warm gold, and every country road feels like a ribbon tossed across a quilt. Families make plans, some to gather around a table, some to hike into the colours, some to visit their favourite fall fairs. It’s a weekend that feels familiar and fresh at the same time: rooted in history, but always full of new ways to celebrate. (Thanksgiving in Ontario)

How Thanksgiving Began (and how it became ours)

Long before “Thanksgiving” appeared on any calendar, harvest feasts were held across what is now Canada by Indigenous peoples who gathered to mark the turning of the seasons and the abundance of the land. Communal meals, ceremony, and gratitude for the harvest predate European settlement and anchor any story about giving thanks here. (Thanksgiving in Ontario)

Centuries later, one oft-told chapter features the English navigator, Martin Frobisher. In 1578, after surviving a harrowing voyage in Arctic waters, he and his crew held a service of thanks, often cited as the first “Canadian” Thanksgiving by European newcomers, and a reminder that expressions of gratitude took many forms in many places. (Thanksgiving in Ontario)

As colonies grew, thanksgiving observances came and went for different reasons: to mark peace after wars, to celebrate safe returns from illness, or, especially, to acknowledge a good harvest. Loyalist settlers moving into what became Ontario brought their own harvest customs north, reinforcing the pattern of autumn gatherings and feasts. (Thanksgiving in Ontario)

After Confederation, the new country experimented with dates and meanings. Parliament first proclaimed a national Thanksgiving in 1879 (it was in November then). In 1921, the date was bundled onto the Monday of the week of 11 November alongside Armistice Day, which led to some mixed messaging: remembrance and thanksgiving in a single observance. That pairing ended in 1931, when Remembrance Day stood alone and Thanksgiving again floated through the fall by annual proclamation. Finally, on 31 January 1957, a federal proclamation fixed Thanksgiving to the second Monday in October, which is exactly when Ontario now expects the long weekend to appear. (Thanksgiving in Ontario)

Why Ontario’s Thanksgiving feels like a season, not a day

Because the holiday lands right in the heart of fall, Ontario’s Thanksgiving is as much about place as it is about plate. The timing overlaps with peak colour in many regions, so plans often include time outside, whether that’s a short stroll to a neighbourhood ravine or a full-day adventure in a conservation area or provincial park. Ontario Parks even notes that colour often peaks around Thanksgiving weekend, then shifts into a “golden encore” later in October as beech and birch take over the show. (Thanksgiving in Ontario)

That seasonal sweet spot shapes the weekend in a dozen family-friendly ways: (Thanksgiving in Ontario)

1) The classic feast—made local

Turkey (or ham or a hearty plant-based roast), mashed potatoes, stuffing, squash, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, Ontario tables carry familiar flavours, but the weekend invites a local twist. Farmers’ markets brim with late-season produce, apple varieties for pies and crisps, and cheeses, breads, and preserves from nearby makers. For many families, part of the fun is the procurement, a Saturday morning market run, a roadside stand on the drive to Grandma’s, or a quick detour to an orchard for a bag of Cortlands and a jug of cider. (Destination Ontario highlights how farms across the province pair pick-your-own with mazes, wagon rides, and other kid-friendly extras, making “grocery shopping” feel like an outing in itself.)

2) Hikes, leaf-peeping, and picnic thermoses

With the air just crisp enough for a sweater, families lace up for boardwalk loops through wetlands, lookouts over shield lakes, and gentle trails under cathedral canopies of sugar maple and oak. Popular parks publish fall-colour updates and offer tips to beat the busiest hours (mid-week if you can swing it, or early mornings on the weekend). Even a short walk to a local lookout with a thermos of hot chocolate counts, it’s the ritual of being outside together that clicks.

3) Farm fun: corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and wagon rides

Ontario’s working farms turn into autumn playgrounds at harvest: straw mountains, petting barns, spiral slides, and corn mazes that turn kids into explorers. Many sites add live music, food trucks, and bonfires after dusk. If you want a snapshot of “fall in Ontario” in a single afternoon, this is it.

4) Fairs, festivals, and parades

The weekend is dotted with events that feel tailor-made for families. In Waterloo Region, Kitchener–Waterloo Oktoberfest caps its run with a nationally televised Thanksgiving Day Parade, floats, marching bands, and a crowd of mitten-clad parade-watchers waving from curbside bleachers. Across the Niagara Escarpment, the Ball’s Falls Thanksgiving Festival has grown since the 1970s into a beloved tradition of artisan booths, heritage demos, live music, and guided hikes. Both events put the “community” in the community long weekend.

5) Harvest spectacles

Some harvests are as fun to watch as they are to eat. In Muskoka, the cranberry fields at Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh/Muskoka Lakes Farm & Winery transform into ruby pools during harvest, with tours and tastings that give kids a first-hand look at where those tart little berries come from. (The farm’s harvest runs through October, overlapping perfectly with Thanksgiving.)

6) Football, naps, and board games

Alongside hikes and festivals, plenty of families plan around a game on TV or a backyard toss of the ball. The Canadian Football League’s Thanksgiving Day Classic has been a recurring holiday fixture for decades, an afternoon excuse, perhaps, to sample a second slice of pie while you root for the home side. When the final whistle blows, out come puzzles and cribbage boards as leftovers get their second act.

A weekend rhythm that works for everyone

Part of Thanksgiving’s charm is its flexibility. Some families gather on Saturday to make Sunday a hike day; others swear by a Monday meal so visiting relatives can arrive without rushing. Many communities and places of worship hold food drives and holiday-weekend services; newcomers use the long weekend to host a “friends-giving”; students bring laundry and stories home from campus; volunteers help fairs pack up on Monday night. It’s a long weekend that stretches to fit different schedules, diets, traditions, and budgets, more umbrella than instruction manual.

And while it’s a light, festive time, many Ontario families begin the meal with a moment of reflection, sometimes a land acknowledgment or a few words about the history behind Thanksgiving’s many strands. Recognizing that harvest gratitude long predates the holiday’s official status, and that not everyone experiences the day the same way, adds respect to the celebration without dimming the warmth around the table.

Ontario flavours to savour

If you’re building a menu, the province serves up ideas as fast as the season changes:

• Ontario turkey or roast squash as the star
• Wild rice stuffing or pilafs nodding to northern harvests
• Cranberry relishes made with berries from Muskoka
• Apple crisps with local varieties (Cortland, Northern Spy)
• Butter tarts and pumpkin pie for the sweet-toothed traditionalists
• A toast with sparkling cider, Niagara Pinot Noir, or a mug of hot cider studded with cloves

Pair the meal with a simple ritual kids love: everyone adds a paper maple leaf to a bowl, each leaf labeled with something they’re thankful for. Read them aloud between dinner and dessert, then tuck the leaves into a shoebox to revisit next year.

Easy micro-adventures for the long weekend

• Colour cruise: Pick a short local trail with a lookout (or a municipal park gazebo), pack a handful of oatmeal cookies, and turn it into a one-hour adventure. Snap a family photo in the same spot each year and watch everyone, and the trees, change.
• Market morning: Hand each kid five dollars at a Saturday market and challenge them to find one ingredient and one mystery treat to share. (Markets and farm stands across Ontario are at their brightest right now.)
• Maze & patch: Visit a farm attraction with a corn maze and pumpkin patch; pick one carving pumpkin and one pie pumpkin, so the dessert starts at the source. (Destination Ontario)
• Parade or fair: If you’re near Waterloo Region, the Monday parade is a memory maker; in Niagara, Ball’s Falls blends crafts, nature, and music in one stop.
• Cranberry stop: Watch the harvest in action, then build a tasting board with local cheeses and a fresh cranberry chutney.

Gratitude that lingers

By the time Monday evening rolls around, leftover containers are labelled, boots are drying by the door, and someone has already claimed the last slice of pie. Ontario’s Thanksgiving doesn’t end with the long weekend, though: the colours carry on, and the impulse to say thanks has a way of showing up in everyday gestures, checking on a neighbour, adding a few extra tins to the food bank bin, planning one more hike before the frost.

Rooted in Indigenous harvest traditions, shaped by centuries of local history, and permanently anchored to a crisp October Monday in 1957, Ontario’s Thanksgiving blends everything the season offers: food, family, community, and the kind of beauty that nudges you outside. It’s a holiday that looks backward with respect and forward with hope, and tastes particularly good with gravy.

Key sources for history and timing include The Canadian Encyclopedia’s overview of Thanksgiving in Canada (origins, 1879 holiday, and the 1957 proclamation), federal background on the 1921–1931 Armistice/Thanksgiving pairing, and Ontario Parks’ fall colour guidance for the Thanksgiving period. Event-style examples reference official organizers.