Before hummus became a global staple, it was a simple, nourishing dish rooted in the Levant — a blend of chickpeas, garlic, lemon, and olive oil eaten for centuries across the Eastern Mediterranean.

Chickpeas, one of the earliest cultivated legumes, have long sustained communities in what are now Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and Jordan.

When Ukrainian immigrants began arriving in Canada in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many brought more than just tools and textiles. Tucked into coat linings or sewn into satchels were precious seeds from the Old Country—reminders of the land they left behind and essential for the lives they hoped to build. Among the most prized were herbs: dill, caraway, lovage, parsley, and sorrel.

Between the late 1890s and the 1930s, thousands of Ukrainians arrived on the Canadian Prairies, seeking land, freedom, and the possibility of a better life. Alberta, with its vast stretches of forest-prairie edge and fertile soil, became home to some of the largest Ukrainian settlements in Canada. Places like Vegreville, Lamont, Mundare, and Andrew emerged as cultural strongholds where faith, language, and food could survive in a new land.

Saskatchewan’s landscape—sweeping plains, black soil, and harsh winters—offered both challenge and familiarity to Ukrainian immigrants who began arriving in the 1890s. Many came from agricultural backgrounds in Western Ukraine, regions that shared the open skies and grain-rich horizons of the Prairie provinces. The land promised opportunity but required adaptation.

In many Indigenous cultures across North America, the arrival of the first fruits—especially berries—has long been a time of ceremony, gratitude, and renewal. In particular, wild strawberries were often the first fruit to ripen, marking the beginning of summer and the opening of berry season. For the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), the Strawberry Festival is a time to give thanks and honour the medicine and joy these berries bring.

Long before protein bars or trail mixes filled store shelves, Indigenous peoples across North America created a food that was rich in calories, nutrients, and meaning: pemmican.

Across Canada, grains have played a central role in shaping the country’s food culture, providing sustenance, nutrition, and economic strength for communities throughout the land. From Indigenous grains like wild rice to European grains like wheat and rye, grains have been the backbone of both daily life and celebratory feasts.

Poutine? Nanaimo bars? Barbecue ribs glazed with maple syrup?

Ask five Canadians what defines our national cuisine and you’ll get five different answers—and all of them will be at least partly right. That’s because food in Canada doesn’t come from a single origin or follow one thread. It’s a patchwork of memory, migration, adaptation, and survival.

Maple syrup is often taken for granted as a sweet topping for pancakes, but its roots stretch far deeper than weekend brunch. It is one of the most enduring food traditions on this land, with a history that predates the formation of Canada by millennia.