In Canada
While some researchers state that "there is no compelling
narrative of the origins of the Canadian Thanksgiving day", the first
Canadian Thanksgiving is often traced back to 1578 and the explorer
Martin Frobisher. Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern
passage to the Pacific Ocean, held his Thanksgiving celebration not
for harvest but in thanks for surviving the long journey from England
through the perils of storms and icebergs. On his third and final
voyage to the far north, Frobisher held a formal ceremony in
Frobisher Bay in Baffin Island (present-day Nunavut) to give thanks to
God and in a service ministered by the preacher Robert Wolfall they
celebrated Communion.
The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are also sometimes traced to
the French settlers who came to New France with explorer Samuel
de Champlain in the early 17th century, who celebrated their
successful harvests. The French settlers in the area typically had
feasts at the end of the harvest season and continued throughout
the winter season, even sharing food with the indigenous peoples of
the area.
As settlers arrived in Canada from New England, late autumn
Thanksgiving celebrations became common. New immigrants into
the country, such as the Irish, Scottish and Germans, also added
their own traditions to the harvest celebrations. Most of the U.S.
aspects of Thanksgiving (such as the turkey), were incorporated
when United Empire Loyalists began to flee from the United States
during the American Revolution and settled in Canada.
Thanksgiving is now a statutory holiday in most jurisdictions of
Canada, with the exception of the Atlantic provinces of Prince
Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia.