Your Thanksgiving turkey is cheaper this year. Dinner sides? Not so much

The retail price of a turkey is down this Thanksgiving compared to last year. How much will it cost to prepare a dinner for your family?

For Canadians looking to prepare a Thanksgiving meal for their families this weekend, economists have some good news — the feast will likely cost about the same as last year, with some items like turkey costing even less.

“Overall, the big picture is that Thanksgiving dinner should cost us fairly similar to what it did last year, depending on what the specific tradition is in your household,” said Mike von Massow, food economist at the University of Guelph.

According to the latest figures available from Statistics Canada, the retail price of a frozen turkey was around $3.81 per kilogram across the country in a four-week period from Aug. 10 to Sept. 6.

During the same period last year, the retail price of a whole frozen turkey was $4.34 per kilogram.

Around Thanksgiving this year, you should be able to get turkey around $3.99 a pound, according to Darren Ference, chair of the Turkey Farmers of Canada.

“When they go into the supermarket, there should be a good supply of turkey at fair prices — under or equal to prices from last year. So find yourself a nice turkey within your size or find pieces or parts,” Ference said.

For the average family, a Thanksgiving meal for four should cost somewhere between $34 and $35, von Massow said.

“It depends on where you are, but the estimates that I’ve seen for a family of four are around $34 to $35 for a Thanksgiving meal. That includes turkey,” he said.