Broken Hearts, Tainted Love: Canadians and Their Relationships

Toronto, ON - A Showcase Survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid finds that many Canadians are the bearer of broken hearts. Over two-in-five (43%) Canadians say they have had their hearts broken in a past relationship and one-in-ten (9%) admit that they have personally been left at the altar or know a friend who has and a third (34%) have been cheated on by a partner.

When Canadians were asked if they would cheat on their current partner if there was no chance of being caught, less than one-in-ten (8%) said they would - men (10%) were more likely to say they would cheat compared to women (5%).

Just less than one-in-ten (8%) Canadians admitted that they have sought revenge on a partner after a break-up and men (7%) and women (8%) are both as likely to have sought revenge on a past mate.

These are the findings of the Showcase Survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid between January 21 and January 24, 2002. The poll is based on a proportionately representative randomly selected sample of 1000 Canadians, 18 years or age or older. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. Confidence limits for regional results vary depending on the sample size.

34% of Canadians have been cheated on by a partner

• Men (33%) and women (35%) are equally to have been cheated on by a partner,
• Young Canadians (40%) appear to be bearing the brunt of infidelity compared to their middle aged (34%) and older (27%) counterparts.
• Regionally, Quebec residents were least likely (26%) to have been cheated on whereas British Columbia residents were the most likely (42%).
• Lower income earners (42%) also experience more hardships of the heart compared to moderate (34%) and higher income (29%) earners.
• Canadians with university education are the least likely to have been cheated on (25%) while all others were as equally as likely to have experienced the unfaithfulness of a partner (less than high school 37%, High school 38%, college 38%).

Over two-in-five (43%) Canadians have had their hearts broken

• Men (45%) are somewhat more likely to have had their hearts broken in a past relationship compared to women (40%).
• Regionally, Saskatchewan and Manitoba residents (53%) were more likely to have had their hearts broken compared to their Western neighbors (British Columbia 43%, Alberta 47%) and their Eastern counterparts (Ontario 44%, Quebec 36%, Atlantic 44%)
• And, lower income earners (48%) were also more likely than high income earners (39%) to say they have had their hearts broken by a partner in the past.
• In addition, high school (49%) and college (48%) graduates were more likely to have had their hearts broken compared to those with less than high school education (38%) and university graduates (34%).

One-in-ten (9%) have personally been left at the altar or know a friend who has

• Men (11%) are more likely than women (7%) to have been left at the altar or now a friend who has.
• Younger Canadians (11%) were more likely to have been left at the altar compared to middle aged (8%) or older (9%) Canadians.
• Regionally, British Columbia residents (13%) were the most likely to say they have been left at the altar or know a friend who has been compared to other Westerners (Alberta 7%, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (6%) as well as Easterners (Ontario 9%, Quebec 9%, Atlantic 9%)
• Middle income earners (11%) were somewhat more likely to have been left at the altar or know someone who has compared to lower (9%)or higher income earners (8%).
• Canadians who have less than high school education (15%) were most likely to have been left at the altar compared to high school (9%), college (9%) or university graduates (7%).

One-in-ten (8%) Canadians would cheat on their partner if there was no chance of being caught

• Men (10%) are twice as likely to say they would cheat if there was no change of being caught compared to women (5%).
• Younger Canadians (12%) were also more likely to cheat compared to middle aged (6%) and older (5%) Canadians.
• Regionally, British Columbia (9%) and Ontario (9%) residents are more likely to cheat whereas Atlantic Canadians (3%) are the most faithful to their partners.
• Middle (9%) to higher (8%) income earners are the most likely to cheat if there was no chance of being caught whereas lower income (6%) earners were the least likely to cheat.
• High school graduates (11%) are the most likely to be unfaithful while those with less than high school (5%) and university (5%) education were the least likely.

One-in-ten (8%) Canadians have sought revenge on a partner after a break-up

• Men (7%) and women (8%) are surprisingly equally as likely to seek revenge on a partner after a break-up.
• However, younger (13%) Canadians are more than twice as likely to see revenge compared to middle aged (5%) or older (4%) Canadians.
• Regionally, Quebec residents (12%) are the ones to watch out for, as they are the most likely to seek revenge after a break-up whereas Saskatchewan (2%) and Manitoba (2%) residents were the least likely o seek revenge.
• Revenge seeking appears to decline with income. Lower income earners (10%) were the most likely to have sought revenge as opposed to higher income earners. (7%).
• Canadians with less than high school (11%) education are more likely to seek revenge whereas university graduates (5%) are the least likely.

To view the complete release and tables, please download the attached PDF file.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Public Affairs
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900