The Christmas Season

A slim majority (51%) of Canadians believe that they, personally, are better off this Christmas season than they were last Christmas. One third (34%) somewhat agree that they are better off this year, and another one in six (17%) strongly agree. However, forty-six percent (46%) believe they are not any better off this year -- almost one in three (27%) somewhat disagree that they are better off this year, and a further one in five (19%) strongly disagree. (Download table in .pdf format)

Respondents with a household income of at least $60K stand out as the group most likely to report being better off this year (65%). Also likely to feel they are better off than they were last Christmas are Albertans (60%), British Columbians (58%), respondents aged 18 to 34 (60%), and men (60%). Least likely to report an improvement over last year are residents of Quebec (43%), women (44%) and those over the age of 55 (44%).

When it comes to spending intentions, the majority of Canadians (52%) plan to spend about the same amount of money as they spent last year. One third (34%) say they will be spending less this year, while only about one in seven (14%) think they may spend more money this year. (Download table in .pdf format)

In line with their feeling of being better off than they were a year ago, Albertans (20%) and those aged 18 to 34 (20%) are the groups most likely to report that they expect to spend more money this year. Residents of the Atlantic provinces (44%), those with an income of less than $30K (42%), and women (40%) are the most likely to spend less than they did last Christmas season.

These are the findings of a CTV/National Angus Reid Group Poll conducted among a representative sample of 1,516 adult Canadians between November 20th and 25th, 1997. A sample of this size has an associated margin of error of ±2.5 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.

This Canada-wide poll was conducted by telephone between November 20th and 25th, 1997, among a representative cross-section of 1,516 adult Canadians.

The data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's age composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

With a national sample of 1,516, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results are within ±2.5 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within the various sub-groupings of the survey population.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

W. John Wright
Senior Vice President
Angus Reid Group, Inc.
(416) 324-2900