Fasts, Thanksgivings, and Senses of Community in Nineteenth-Century Canada and the British Empire
Journal: Canadian Historical Review
Year: 2017

On at least eighty-seven occasions between 1789 and 1901, Canadian state authorities set aside days so that their populations could thank God for blessings or implore divine intervention and assistance in periods of crisis. By Confederation, every Canadian colony and province had developed a tradition of marking exceptional occasions with days of fasting and thanksgiving. After 1867, the provincial governments, and then the dominion government, regularly called thanksgiving days for good harvest