What to know
- The Downsview Park Merchants Market is giving away 300 free turkeys this Sunday, Oct. 11.
- Each family can receive one turkey, with potatoes and cranberry sauce also available.
- The giveaway starts at 12 p.m. and continues while supplies last.
- The giveaway comes as a Dalhousie University study found the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner for four has risen 10 per cent this year.
Amid affordability concerns, the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Drive is back at Downsview Park, distributing hundreds of turkeys for free ahead of the fall holiday.
Those that are now making their Thanksgiving plans have a chance to get a free turkey for their table this weekend.
For the seventh consecutive year, the Downsview Park Merchants Market at 40 Carl Hall Rd. will be distributing 300 turkeys to attendees this Sunday, Oct. 11.
The market will be giving out one free bird per family, as well as potatoes and cranberry sauce. The giveaway begins at 12 p.m. and will happen while supplies last.
Turkey costs going up in Canada
The giveaway comes as Canadians might be facing higher costs to fill their tables this Thanksgiving.
A study by the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University has reportedly found that Thanksgiving dinner costs are going up in Canada this fall compared to last year.
Based on a dinner packed with a seven-pound turkey priced at $12.53, as well as stuffing, potatoes, cranberries, gravy, pumpkin pies and rolls, the study concluded that a Thanksgiving dinner for four people is expected to cost about $35.72 this year.
This is up 10 per cent from last year, when the dinner price was at $32.48.
According to the study, most of the price rise comes from the price of turkey, which rose from $10.43 in 2025 to $12.53 in 2026 for a seven-pound bird.
Ham also seems to have gotten more expensive, with the price of a Thanksgiving dinner packed with ham instead of turkey sitting at $36.37, a 4.3 per cent increase from 2025, when it was at $34.87.
