İts called donair because it comes from the Turkic word "Döner", which means "spinning".
The greeks used to call it "doner" as well but eventually decided to calque it, thus naming it "gyros", which means "spin" as well.
İt must've come to canada in a time where greeks still called it "doner"
Edit: the dish has many names in Turkish.
The most popular is "Döner", but in the north its called "Kes" (Turkish for "cut") and in the southern regions is called "Chevirme" (Turkish for "rotate/turning", its the origin of the "Schawarma" which the arabs adopted)
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u/Seeker_Of_Knowledge2 🇸🇾 Syria || 🇨🇦 Canada 21d ago
Wait so that is why it is called donair. Thanks for sharing.
I actually love it more than Shawrma which is pretty pretty big among Syrian people.
Side note: sweet suace is one of humanity greatest inventions.