Canada Thanksgiving: Budget-friendly feasts possible with local ingredients

Experts suggest that Canadians can host a budget-friendly Thanksgiving dinner by focusing on locally sourced ingredients that coincide with the peak of the country’s harvest season.

Paul van der Werf, an adjunct professor at Ivey Business School at Western University, noted that Thanksgiving aligns with high agricultural production in Canada. He highlighted that the country is a major producer of turkey and potatoes, and is the world’s second-largest producer of cranberries. Data from Statistics Canada indicates that Ontario accounted for 45 per cent of Canada’s turkey production in 2025.