<P> Thanksgiving (French: Action de grâce), or Thanksgiving Day (Jour de l'action de grâce) is an annual Canadian holiday, occurring on the second Monday in October, which celebrates the harvest and other blessings of the past year . </P> <P> Thanksgiving has been officially celebrated as an annual holiday in Canada since November 6, 1879 . The date, however, was not fixed and varied by year, though it was commonly the third Monday in October . </P> <P> On January 31, 1957, the Governor General of Canada Vincent Massey issued a proclamation stating: "A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed--to be observed on the second Monday in October ." </P> <P> Thanksgiving is a statutory holiday in most of Canada, with the exceptions being the Atlantic provinces of Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, where it is an optional holiday . Companies that are regulated by the federal government (such as those in the telecommunications and banking sectors) recognize the holiday regardless of its provincial status . </P>

Who declared thanksgiving a national holiday in canada