The Thanksgiving Day Classic () is an annual doubleheader held on Thanksgiving in the Canadian Football League (CFL). It is typically one of two days in which the league plays on a Monday afternoon; the other is the Labour Day Classic. Purolator is the presenting sponsor of the event as of 2022.
The Montreal Alouettes have hosted the Thanksgiving Day Classic most years since 1997 and every year since 2006. This was originally started to compensate for not being part of the Labour Day Classic festivities; Montreal and the various Ottawa franchises normally play on Labour Day when both franchises are active. The Alouettes' permanent hosting of Thanksgiving remained in place after Ottawa returned to the league in 2014, with the Ottawa Redblacks serving as the permanent away team since 2021. Through the 2013 season, there were two Thanksgiving Day Classics each year, with the second being hosted by a rotating team; Montreal has been the lone host all but once since 2015, and Ottawa vs. Montreal the lone matchup every year since 2022. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats played CFL games annually in all but three years between 1958 and 1982, hosting the vast majority of them; Hamilton also hosted three times in four years from 1990 to 1993 and again hosted Thanksgiving games in 2013 and 2021.
Since the CFL's creation in 1958 through 2024, there have been 125 games played on Thanksgiving Day. The 2019 CFL season was the first and, to date, only time in league history to feature no games on Thanksgiving Day. The league scheduled the Classic for the 2020 CFL season, with one game being played on Thanksgiving Day. However, due to financial issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the entire 2020 CFL season was cancelled and this game was not played.
Despite Canadian Thanksgiving being a legal holiday in the United States (Columbus Day at the time), none of the CFL's American teams ever played the Thanksgiving Day Classic during the league's presence there in the mid-1990s.
2027 changes In late 2017, a proposal emerged to move the start of the CFL season to five or six weeks earlier than it begins in the present day, so that the Grey Cup would have been held on the third weekend of October, as opposed to the fourth Sunday in November as it was scheduled in 2018. The change, designed to accommodate a potential U.S. television agreement with NFL Network, had support among CFL owners and would have, if approved, taken effect for the 2019 CFL season. If the proposal had taken effect, Thanksgiving Day weekend would have overlapped with the CFL's division championship games. While this change was not implemented and the season schedule remained the same, the league did not schedule any Thanksgiving Day games in 2019. The league has indicated that such a schedule change would have needed to be negotiated in the league's collective bargaining agreement with the players' association. The CBA at the time expired in 2019; at the same time, the league renewed its existing agreement with ESPN, making a schedule change unnecessary, and the new CBA approved that year made no provision for a change.
A modified version of this proposal was eventually accepted in April 2026, to take effect in 2027 along with several other controversial rule changes bringing the CFL's rules closer to those of American football. Under the revision, the regular season will end on Thanksgiving (part of an initiative to build the regular schedule around Canada's holiday weekends, including beginning the season on the weekend of Victoria Day), with an expanded eight-team Grey Cup tournament beginning the following weekend.
Results
By year YearVisiting teamScoreHome teamScoreSource1958Ottawa Rough Riders13Montreal Alouettes34Hamilton Tiger-Cats0Toronto Argonauts37BC Lions34Saskatchewan Roughriders16Edmonton Eskimos19Calgary Stampeders141959Ottawa Rough Riders28Montreal Alouettes12Toronto Argonauts7Hamilton Tiger-Cats20Winnipeg Blue Bombers27Saskatchewan Roughriders14Calgary Stampeders41Edmonton Eskimos231960Ottawa Rough Riders51Montreal Alouettes21Toronto Argonauts16Hamilton Tiger-Cats20Winnipeg Blue Bombers48Saskatchewan Roughriders71961Ottawa Rough Riders14Hamilton Tiger-Cats10BC Lions7Saskatchewan Roughriders171962Ottawa Rough Riders26Montreal Alouettes24Edmonton Eskimos20Saskatchewan Roughriders281963Edmonton Eskimos17Hamilton Tiger-Cats28Winnipeg Blue Bombers8Calgary Stampeders141964Ottawa Rough Riders1Hamilton Tiger-Cats23Montreal Alouettes21Winnipeg Blue Bombers20Toronto Argonauts14Saskatchewan Roughriders311965Calgary Stampeders36Montreal Alouettes21Ottawa Rough Riders23Hamilton Tiger-Cats25Saskatchewan Roughriders20Winnipeg Blue Bombers211966Toronto Argonauts9Montreal Alouettes8Winnipeg Blue Bombers7Hamilton Tiger-Cats8BC Lions19Edmonton Eskimos71967Montreal Alouettes6Ottawa Rough Riders40Hamilton Tiger-Cats21Saskatchewan Roughriders221968BC Lions13Montreal Alouettes4Calgary Stampeders15Saskatchewan Roughriders191969Toronto Argonauts17Hamilton Tiger-Cats7Montreal Alouettes14Edmonton Eskimos201970Ottawa Rough Riders17Hamilton Tiger-Cats24Calgary Stampeders13Edmonton Eskimos161971BC Lions3Hamilton Tiger-Cats36Winnipeg Blue Bombers24Calgary Stampeders171972Calgary Stampeders30Ottawa Rough Riders45Winnipeg Blue Bombers15Edmonton Eskimos241973 Winnipeg Blue Bombers14Edmonton Eskimos14Ottawa Rough Riders16Hamilton Tiger-Cats13Calgary Stampeders0Montreal Alouettes451974Winnipeg Blue Bombers19Hamilton Tiger-Cats12Calgary Stampeders24Edmonton Eskimos101975Montreal Alouettes24Toronto Argonauts13Calgary Stampeders12Edmonton Eskimos211976Montreal Alouettes34Hamilton Tiger-Cats9BC Lions12Edmonton Eskimos161977Toronto Argonauts43Hamilton Tiger-Cats2Winnipeg Blue Bombers24Edmonton Eskimos311978Ottawa Rough Riders5Hamilton Tiger-Cats25BC Lions15Edmonton Eskimos31979Toronto Argonauts3Hamilton Tiger-Cats42Calgary Stampeders16Winnipeg Blue Bombers13Montreal Alouettes6Edmonton Eskimos471980Calgary Stampeders28Hamilton Tiger-Cats30BC Lions9Edmonton Eskimos331981Saskatchewan Roughriders28Hamilton Tiger-Cats12Ottawa Rough Riders6Edmonton Eskimos241982Saskatchewan Roughriders24Hamilton Tiger-Cats24Toronto Argonauts35Winnipeg Blue Bombers391983BC Lions30Winnipeg Blue Bombers181984Calgary Stampeders8Winnipeg Blue Bombers461985Saskatchewan Roughriders14Hamilton Tiger-Cats51Toronto Argonauts17Calgary Stampeders281986Winnipeg Blue Bombers18Ottawa Rough Riders16Toronto Argonauts14Calgary Stampeders371987Edmonton Eskimos20Winnipeg Blue Bombers381988Edmonton Eskimos17Winnipeg Blue Bombers211989Ottawa Rough Riders21Toronto Argonauts49Winnipeg Blue Bombers7Edmonton Eskimos451990Edmonton Eskimos23Hamilton Tiger-Cats251991Saskatchewan Roughriders21Hamilton Tiger-Cats421992Winnipeg Blue Bombers49Ottawa Rough Riders471993Toronto Argonauts20Hamilton Tiger-Cats281994Ottawa Rough Riders24Calgary Stampeders281995Calgary Stampeders41BC Lions27Winnipeg Blue Bombers20Toronto Argonauts311996Montreal Alouettes25Ottawa Rough Riders18Toronto Argonauts23Calgary Stampeders301997Hamilton Tiger-Cats13Calgary Stampeders311998Toronto Argonauts40Montreal Alouettes13Edmonton Eskimos40Winnipeg Blue Bombers201999Saskatchewan Roughriders7Montreal Alouettes43Edmonton Eskimos26BC Lions202000Edmonton Eskimos15Montreal Alouettes45Winnipeg Blue Bombers40BC Lions332001Saskatchewan Roughriders13Montreal Alouettes7Hamilton Tiger-Cats35Calgary Stampeders332002Toronto Argonauts29Hamilton Tiger-Cats28 (OT)Montreal Alouettes48Edmonton Eskimos302003Toronto Argonauts15Ottawa Renegades21Calgary Stampeders22Saskatchewan Roughriders242004BC Lions16Toronto Argonauts22Montreal Alouettes19Edmonton Eskimos392005Edmonton Eskimos17Toronto Argonauts13BC Lions23Winnipeg Blue Bombers442006Saskatchewan Roughriders8Montreal Alouettes35Edmonton Eskimos23Toronto Argonauts282007Hamilton Tiger-Cats19Montreal Alouettes27Saskatchewan Roughriders33Calgary Stampeders212008Hamilton Tiger-Cats11Montreal Alouettes42Saskatchewan Roughriders5Calgary Stampeders422009Calgary Stampeders11Montreal Alouettes32Winnipeg Blue Bombers38Hamilton Tiger-Cats282010Calgary Stampeders19Montreal Alouettes46BC Lions35Winnipeg Blue Bombers472011Toronto Argonauts19Montreal Alouettes29Saskatchewan Roughriders1Edmonton Eskimos172012Winnipeg Blue Bombers27Montreal Alouettes22Saskatchewan Roughriders36Toronto Argonauts102013Winnipeg Blue Bombers34Montreal Alouettes27Toronto Argonauts18Hamilton Tiger-Cats242014Saskatchewan Roughriders9Montreal Alouettes40Winnipeg Blue Bombers9Edmonton Eskimos412015Toronto Argonauts25Montreal Alouettes172016Edmonton Eskimos40Montreal Alouettes20Calgary Stampeders48Toronto Argonauts202017Edmonton Eskimos42Montreal Alouettes242018Calgary Stampeders12Montreal Alouettes6Edmonton Eskimos12Saskatchewan Roughriders192019 None2020 Toronto Argonauts vs. Montreal Alouettes cancelled2021Ottawa Redblacks16Montreal Alouettes20Toronto Argonauts24Hamilton Tiger-Cats232022Ottawa Redblacks24Montreal Alouettes182023Ottawa Redblacks3Montreal Alouettes292024Ottawa Redblacks12Montreal Alouettes192025Ottawa Redblacks10Montreal Alouettes302026Saskatchewan RoughridersMontreal Alouettes
By appearance Appearances Hosted Team Wins Losses Ties Win % Streak3930Montreal Alouettes 2019 0.513W33327Hamilton Tiger-Cats 17151 .530W13319Edmonton Eskimos/Elks19131.591L12911Winnipeg Blue Bombers 18101.638L12811Calgary Stampeders 14140 .500W2289Toronto Argonauts11170.393W12310Saskatchewan Roughriders 11 111 .500W1246Ottawa Rough Riders/Renegades/Redblacks9150 .375L3153BC Lions 5 100 .333L6
See also American football on Thanksgiving
References