Public holiday

Thanksgiving long weekend

Name: Thanksgiving long weekend
Start: 2026-10-10
End: 2026-10-12
Location: Island-wide

Canada's Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of October. On the island it coincides with the salmon runs, the last grizzly departures from Campbell River and the first autumn storms on the Pacific coast; ferries and accommodation fill for the three days.

Annual, dates set by the organiser

When: Sat 10 – Mon 12 Oct 2026; Exact times set locally; all-day listing
Recurrence: Second Monday of October each year
Where: Island-wide; Island-wide
Tickets: Free to attend
Organiser: Government of British Columbia (statutory holiday)
Last verified: 6 Sept 2026

Official source

The long weekend is the busiest ferry weekend of the autumn. If you are bringing a vehicle across on the Tsawwassen–Swartz Bay or Horseshoe Bay–Departure Bay routes, reserve well ahead; foot passengers usually walk on without trouble.

It is a good weekend to be in the Cowichan Valley for harvest tastings, in Goldstream Provincial Park for the start of the chum salmon run, or in Campbell River, where the grizzly tours are in their final weeks. Tofino lodges treat it as the opening of storm season.

Around the same trip

Tours that pair well with this event

Bears & wildlife Food & drink Hiking & rainforest

Bears & wildlifeFrom CA$184

Departs Victoria

Victoria Marine Wildlife Tour

Discover why British Columbia is one of the best places in the world to see whales and other marine wildlife on this 3-hour tour with Eagle Wing Tours at Victoria’s Fisherman’s Wharf. Hop aboard a…

5.0 (375)3 hours

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Great Bears of Bute: Grizzly Bear Viewing & Indigenous Cultural Tour

Bears & wildlifeFrom CA$646

Departs Campbell River

Great Bears of Bute: Grizzly Bear Viewing & Indigenous Cultural Tour

Witness grizzly bears in their natural habitat on this breathtaking wildlife, cultural and marine tour. Join an Indigenous guide and visit the traditional territory of the Homalco First Nations in…

4.9 (345)8–9 hours

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Food & drinkFrom CA$115

Departs Victoria

Victoria Guided Food and History Tour

This award-winning, owner-operated 2-hour tour begins at the Phillips Brewing Tasting Room (2000 Government St) and includes stops at The Gates of Harmonious Interest, Fan Tan Alley, Market Square,…

5.0 (2,224)2 hours

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Hip & Hidden Chinatown + Old Town Food Tour Victoria

Food & drinkFrom CA$129

Departs Victoria

Hip & Hidden Chinatown + Old Town Food Tour Victoria

This small-group culinary experience explores Canada’s oldest Chinatown and the atmospheric streets of Old Town through the lens of Victoria’s most exciting restaurants. Designed and curated by…

4.9 (330)2h 30m

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More on the calendar

15Oct

Wildlife & natureAnnual, dates set by the organiser

Salmon run at Goldstream Provincial Park

Every autumn tens of thousands of chum salmon return to the Goldstream River, twenty minutes from downtown Victoria, to spawn and die in the shallows beside the trail. Bald eagles follow. It is one of the most accessible salmon runs on the coast and free to watch.

Thu 15 Oct – Thu 10 Dec 2026

Victoria

Free to attend

Checked 6 Sept 2026

11Nov

Public holidayAnnual, dates set by the organiser

Remembrance Day ceremonies

A statutory holiday in British Columbia. Ceremonies at 11 a.m. at cenotaphs in every town; Victoria's, on the Parliament lawns beside the Inner Harbour, draws a large crowd. Most shops close for the morning and some for the day.

Wed 11 Nov 2026

Victoria

Free to attend

Checked 6 Sept 2026

Full calendar