A donair is a variation on the döner kebab. It was originally introduced in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in the early 1970s. A restaurant called King of Donair claims to have been the first to serve this version in 1973.

The meat in this version of the döner kebab (sometimes called 'Halifax donair') is sliced from a loaf cooked on a vertical spit, made from a combination of ground beef, flour or bread crumbs, and various spices, while the sauce is made from evaporated milk, sugar, vinegar, and garlic. The meat and sauce are served rolled in a flatbread pita with diced tomato and onion. The donair is very popular throughout the Atlantic provinces of Canada, and is also available in some other areas of the country, with many fast food pizza restaurants also featuring donairs on the menu.

Many of them also offer a donair pizza featuring all of the donair ingredients served on a pizza crust. Donair subs are also not uncommon. In Atlantic Canada you can also find donair meat used in offerings such as donair egg rolls (an egg roll casing stuffed with donair meat), donair calzones/panzerottis, and in donair poutine (french fries topped with cheese curds, donair meat and donair sauce or gravy or a combination).

Due to the popularity of donairs, donair shops have started to open up in other regions of Canada, especially in the Greater Toronto Area. In the summer of 2008, after numerous cases of E. coli related food poisoning due to the consumption of undercooked donair meat in Alberta, the federal government came out with a set of guidelines for the preparation of donairs.

The principle guideline was that the meat should be cooked at least twice: once on the spit, and then grilled as the donair is being prepared. Many Atlantic Canadian establishments already did this, however, Albertan restaurants, recently introduced to donairs by a large number of Atlantic Canadians looking for work there, often omitted the grilling step.

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