6 spooktacular facts about Halloween in Canada

The first instance of dressing in disguise (“guising”) in North America occurred in Vancouver, in 1898. Locals were...confused? “The habit, if properly followed out and observed, is a harmless one,” reported a reassuring article in the Vancouver Daily Mail.

The first recorded use of the expression “trick or treat” was in Lethbridge, Alta., in 1927. No word on when and where the saying changed to include “Smell my feet; give me something good to eat.”

A bylaw in Bathurst, N.B., once banned anyone older than 14 from trick-or-treating. People weren’t too happy about that; it was later amended to ban the act by anyone older than 16. The fine if caught? $200.

It was Scottish and Irish immigrants who introduced Halloween celebrations, including pumpkin carving, to Canada in the mid-1800s. The original jack’-o-lanterns carved in Ireland and Britain weren’t pumpkins, they were turnips, beets, and potatoes. Eventually, pumpkins became the vessel of choice because they were easier to carve. (Have you ever tried to hollow out a turnip?)

North America has been host to several Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contests, including one in 2021 in Ontario’s old Welland Canal. Knife-wielding scuba divers use weighted belts and bricks to help them sink to the bottom. The designs were...well, about what you'd expect for pumpkins carved in the dark. Underwater.

In Canada, Halloween is the second-largest shopping season, after Christmas. It’s a billion-dollar industry; we spend the money on costumes, decorations, and, of course, lots and lots of candy–it makes up about a third of the cash. That’s a little scary.