A turkey dinner for Thanksgiving is going to cost you a lot more this year, a report by the the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University found on Tuesday.
The cost of cooking your family a Thanksgiving meal has been rising steadily since 2024, with a small increase of 0.6 per cent for a turkey dinner in 2025, compared to 2024.
This year, however, the cost went up 10 per cent from $32.48 in 2025 to $35.72 in 2026 for a Thanksgiving meal for four with turkey as your main meat.
The menu includes potatoes, carrots, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie, cranberries, stuffing, and gravy as sides, but the rise in the cost is mainly due to the cost of turkey rising from $10.43 to $12.53.
How much do sides cost this year?
Side dishes got more expensive too.
There was a slight $0.74 rise in the cost of a pound of carrots from $0.91 in 2025 to $1.65 in 2026.
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The price of a 10-pound sack of potatoes remained the same at $6.99.
The combined price of the five other sides – dinner rolls, pumpkin pie, cranberries, stuffing, and gravy – went up by 2.8 per cent, the report said.
Overall, it will cost $23.19 to put together the whole array of sides. In 2025, the same side dishes cost $22.05 and in 2024, they cost $20.61.
All meats will cost more
While the cost of turkey has seen the sharpest rise, you’ll be paying more this year regardless of what meat you use as your main course.
The rise in the price of turkeys has meant that the cost of a ham dinner would be in the same ballpark range.
The price of a ham Thanksgiving dinner went up 4.3 per cent from $34.87 in 2025 to $36.37 this year.
The cost of lamb and lobster meals will depend on the cut of the meat, but the report estimates that both those proteins also went up in price.
A lamb meal for four has gone up 3.5 per cent from $77.77 in 2025 to $80.47 in 2026.
Lobster meals have seen the smallest increase in price but remain the most expensive protein in a Thanksgiving meal for four. It went up 3.4 per cent from $85.23 in 2025 to $80.47.
Liberals like to pretend excess capital cares about economic classes.
They think, if they raise taxes on the rich to fund tax cuts for the poor, they will buy votes, and they are right, but only because they have ensured a majority lack basic understanding of the society they inhabit so they can indulge themselves on the feast procured by the ignorance they maintain by making people hate capitalism, economics, and maths.
At the end of the day, if you raise taxes for wealthy while cutting them for the less advantageous, you are still playing with the same amount of capital and it still falls into the caregories of excess, or not excess.
If the poor person has more after tax capital available, it will still go to the people that have more capital as they are the recipients of those that spend the money whether it is in the form of Mercedes or Takkis.
The emphasis differs as the business that has more capital may expand operations, hire more employees, and expand the amount of tax revenue available to government exponentially while the minimum wage employees max out on lotto tickets, beer and junkfood, contributing nothing more than the dollar given to them.
If the prize requires 5% growth per year to achieve, those that do not achieve 5% growth per year are likely to achieve it.
The minimum wage is not designed to buy housing. Its designed to make you thirsty.
A “liveable wage” is emotional drivel and I may be using words that offend you or seem harsh but the math is the same.
I am simply not beating around the bush or sugar coating it. I am learning gardening slowly, but baking? I just dont have a sweet tooth.
Excessive inflation causes deflation which is simply the equivalent of the House of Cards coming tumbling down.
Like I say to the ignorant masses:
If the Bank Of Canada is increasing interest rates to remove excess capital from the market via monetary policy, it kinda behooves the government to not use fiscal policy to flood the market with capital by spending more money or cutting taxes.
Both, add capital and act contrary to the Banks efforts to reduce inflation.
Was 0.91, and increased by 0.74.
74/91=81.3 a little inaccurate.
1.81×91=164.7, which rounds to 165 cents, or $1.65.
I know you dont like words that describe your lack of intelligence but there is a simple and free cure.
Read, learn mathematics and an instrument.
Since when is an ~81% increase slight you lying pos?!
Liberals suck at basic arithmetic.
Like I say – run from the modern Liberal.
“There was a slight $0.74 rise in the cost of a pound of carrots from $0.91 in 2025 to $1.65 in 2026.”
Thank you for the meaningless commentary. Turkey prices are what economists would call static or unchanged as the change, whether up or down, is too insignificant to mention.
Thank you for the meaningless commentaey. Turkey prices are what evonomists would call static or, unchanged as the change, whether up or down, is too insignificant to mention.
@Jennofur: I’m glad you enjoy the all-carb diet. I do not. There will be a healthy protein on my table, not a turkey but a clean, farm raised chicken that’s pretty much the size of a small turkey. Plus the trimmings.
Happy Thanksgiving.
So what exactly do Thanksgiving turkeys have to do with Iran or Ukraine?
Turkeys are farm grown, in US and Canada.
Just like most food staples in Canada that have gone up in price on a weekly basis. It all falls at the feet of Carney and the Liberals who walked away from a deal with the US simply because the Americans wouldn’t allow Chinese EV’s to be sneaked through Canada into the US. The inflation that is killing many Canadian family budgets is ALL on Carney and the Liberals.
Just like most food staples in Canada that have gone up in price on a weekly basis. It all falls at the feet of Carney and the Liberals who walked away from a deal with the US simply because the
@Ben really? Turkey’s trigger your ABCDelusion? Do you see Trump in your gravy? Poilievre hiding behind the cranberry sauce?
Maybe I ‘ll just have spagetti or meat loaf for Thanksgiving. Why do you have to have Turkey/Ham,. doesn’t mean I am not thankfrul for what I have.
Turkeys are social birds who know each other’s voices and enjoy gentle company, and they suffer when we turn them into dinner. I plan a vegan Thanksgiving with hearty dishes like stuffed squash, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, and pumpkin pie. We can save money, spare animals, and still share a warm, tasty holiday by choosing vegan dishes instead of a turkey.
Someone should do a peer reviewed study as to why the right encourages everyone who they disagree with to f*uck instead of intelligently conversing. Remember the convoy and their F*uck Trudeau flags? Maybe they are sexually frustrated because they are forever single?
Next up with Ben – of course, he doesn’t know what arms length, or Crown Corporation, actually means.
It will be fun to see Ben shut up in tandem with AI pricing plan increases like Google just announced.
Tata, for now Insufferable Ben..
Insufferable Ben, you do not understand inflation at all and your commentary proves it as an undeniable fact.
Please explain the “Federal” policy for inflation that doesn’t exist, because, not only do you not know what inflation is, you also don’t understand basic economics.
Also note, what economists call “The Fed”, refers exclusively to the US Federal Reserve which is a private, centralized bank in the US, and not a reference to any federal government body.
The Federal Government is responsible, like every other level of government, for what is called Fiscal Policy.
Fiscal Policy pertains government spending, and taxation.
The private Central Banking system in countries throughout the world, control inflation via interest rates, or what is called Monetary Policy.
When fiscal policy fails, and wealthy sovereigns are exposed, they raise or cut interest rates to make up for the mess.
Otherwise, the Central Bank’s main concerns rest with private individuals that are so wealthy, we consider than more sovereign than the countries they reside it. See: the protection of billionaire and trillionaire assets, with terse consideration for governments or their citizens.
You, the general public of little means, pays for the risks people like Carney and other wealthy “sovereign individuals” take without so much as what the British and others call a manifesto and Canadians used to call election platforms before they ceased to exist.
You are beyond ignorant:
You are Insufferable Ben.
“Ben
October 6, 2026 at 2:33 pm
As per statistics Canada, food prices rose 2.8% year over year in August 2026, which seems pretty reasonable. Like all economies, we are experiencing food inflation because of the Iran and Ukraine war. The Bank of Canada, who are non-partisan experts, did not blame Carney or federal policy for inflation. Carney is doing a great job and most Canadians support him.”
Ben
October 6, 2026 at 2:33 pm
As per statistics Canada, food prices rose 2.8% year over year in August 2026, which seems pretty reasonable. Like all economies, we are experiencing food inflation because of the Iran and Ukraine war. The Bank of Canada, who are non-partisan experts, did not blame Carney or federal policy for inflation. Carney is doing a great job and most Canadians support him.
Quite simply Ben, Go F*ck your Carney hat badge.
Looks like ” The man for the job” has failed miserably.
Conman Carney duped the Liberal Electorate again. What a bunch of dopes.
“Judge me by the prices at the grocery store”
Mark Carney
We are, no worries, we are
As per statistics Canada, food prices rose 2.8% year over year in August 2026, which seems pretty reasonable. Like all economies, we are experiencing food inflation because of the Iran and Ukraine war. The Bank of Canada, who are non-partisan experts, did not blame Carney or federal policy for inflation. Carney is doing a great job and most Canadians support him.
Carney said we should judge him by the price at the grocery store. Well here is my judgement …. He is an abject failure.
Yes, yes, food prices rise every year under the Liberals. Global with more of the obvious ‘news’.
Thank the LPC for their carbon, plastic & packaging taxes contribution. We get turkey’s for free.
@anon turkey prices are the example of how food prices are going up every week. Why is it the other countries have deals with Trump yet Canada doesn’t. Our economy is in the tank and people are losing jobs it’s there to see if you open your eyes and stop being blinded by the hate of Trump. The fact is he is there and Carney needs to deal with him just like the rest of the world has. Up to now all we have had is big talk and promises from Carney well now it’s time for action. Talk is cheap. Also remember Carneys own words were judge me on food prices well I have and he has failed
Anon, what other reason do you suggest? Turkeys are native to North America and you can go through Ottawa and see live turkeys wondering about.
My argument, is you dont call yourself an economic genius and then destroy the economy over your ego.
@Anonymous. Still prattling on about the “deal” we walked away from which would have destroyed our industrial base and reduced us to a vassal state. Even your heroes PP and Harper said NO to it.
@Anonymous. Basing Carney’s economic policy on poultry prices seems a little odd. Your stand is that Carney must personally guarantee Turkey prices when the Iran and Ukranian wars are both causing prices to skyrocket? Totally unreasonable
Well thanks Carney. I guess being judged on food prices is a big fat fail. Maybe by Christmas the price will go up by another 10%. When are Canadians going to start demanding results on food prices by Carney and this Liberal government, blaming Trump is getting old we could have had a deal and Carney walked away and Canadians are paying the price with the high cost of everything and losing jobs.
@Anonymous. You speak an infinite deal of nothing. “Emotional drivel” is a pretty ironic description for a comment thats typical far right outrage. If you’ve got a substantive case against Carney’s trade policy, make it.
Well, Carney can fix that weak, emotional drivel of a reaction for starting a escalating a trade war – or be removed.