diff --git a/Lib/turtle.py b/Lib/turtle.py
index c9e88d9dd12..f4400c90fd7 100644
--- a/Lib/turtle.py
+++ b/Lib/turtle.py
@@ -997,8 +997,9 @@ def __init__(self, cv, mode=_CFG["mode"],
             # Force Turtle window to the front on OS X. This is needed because
             # the Turtle window will show behind the Terminal window when you
             # start the demo from the command line.
-            cv._rootwindow.call('wm', 'attributes', '.', '-topmost', '1')
-            cv._rootwindow.call('wm', 'attributes', '.', '-topmost', '0')
+            rootwindow = cv.winfo_toplevel()
+            rootwindow.call('wm', 'attributes', '.', '-topmost', '1')
+            rootwindow.call('wm', 'attributes', '.', '-topmost', '0')
 
     def clear(self):
         """Delete all drawings and all turtles from the TurtleScreen.
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index 4e72496f8a4..523965b447c 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ Core and Builtins
 Library
 -------
 
+- Issue #22168: Prevent turtle AttributeError with non-default Canvas on OS X.
+
 - Issue #21147: sqlite3 now raises an exception if the request contains a null
   character instead of truncate it.  Based on patch by Victor Stinner.