Cupid’s arrow hits Canadians ahead of February 14th

Toronto, Canada, February 11, 2022 — Gearing up to be the most romantic day of the year, a new Ipsos survey asked people from 28 countries what their Valentine’s Day plans entail if any. Over half (55%) of all adults who are married, partnered, engaged, or involved in a romantic relationship plan to celebrate the occasion, with nearly six in ten (59%) Canadians planning to do the same. Out of the 28 countries polled, residents of the United States are the most enthusiastic to celebrate (75%) with South Africans feeling just as passionate about the most romantic day of the year (74%).

How will Canadian lovers celebrate February 14^th

Ahead of the annual celebration of love, Canadians are more likely to mark the occasion with a romantic dinner at home (54%), much ahead of the global average (41%). Amidst the persisting COVID-related concerns and restrictions, it is not surprising that spouses and lovers in Canada are less likely (29%) to venture out for sit-down dinners in restaurants, catch a movie, go to the theatre or attend a concert. Thirty-six percent (36%) of partnered adults in Canada plan to make love to mark the occasion and three in ten (30%) plan on buying/giving chocolates or candy.

Romantic getaways or weekend trips are out of the question for Canadians this year; only 4% marked this on their to-do list for Valentine’s Day compared to the 28-country average of 17%. While sweets, flowers, and fragrances are the most popular Valentine’s Day gifts globally, Canadians differ starkly in their preference for perfumes as the gift of choice (Canada: 5% vs. 20% global average of 28 countries).  

 

Why some Canadians won’t be celebrating this year

Despite having a significant other, most Canadians (58%) say that Valentine’s Day is too much of a commercial/marketing event. Commercialization of V-day is a belief held much more strongly by Canadians in comparison to the global average of 47%. Some of the other countries who take this stance on the day being more of a marketing gimmick are Belgium (75%), Great Britain (69%), Australia (67%) and France (66%).

Fewer Canadians argue that it is too expensive/they can’t afford it (14%), it is “too old-fashioned” (13%), and that they don’t have the time/they are too busy (9%). Only 3% say they are not familiar with it.

The feeling that it is too foreign to their culture and traditions is the second most common reason cited globally (37%), but very few Canadians hold this view (12%). 

 

Why are you not likely to celebrate? Base: Adults with a partner who are not likely to celebrate Valentine’s day 2022	Canada	Global country average[1]	Difference between Global country average and Canada
It’s too much of a commercial or marketing event	58%	47%	+11 pts
It’s too expensive/I can’t afford to	14%	11%	+3 pts
It’s too old fashioned	13%	10%	+3 pts
It’s not a part of my culture or tradition	12%	37%	-25pts
I do not have the time/I am too busy with other things	9%	10%	-1pt

[1] The “Global Country Average” reflects the average result for all the countries and markets where the survey was conducted. It has not been adjusted to the population size of each country or market and is not intended to suggest a total result.

 

Canadians are quite satisfied with the relationships they’re in

Relationship satisfaction ranks pretty highly for Canadians: the vast majority (89%) of global couples say they are satisfied with the relationship they have with their spouse, partner, fiancé(e) or friend. Canadians are slightly more so at 91% (including 66% who say they are very satisfied and 27% somewhat satisfied). Couples in the United States are slightly more smitten than their Canadian neighbours, with 94% saying they are satisfied in their relationship, ranking top of the list of 28 countries polled.

 

About the Study

These are the results of a 28-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform. For the survey, Ipsos interviewed 19,987 adults who are aged 18-74 in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, and Turkey, and 16-74 in 23 other markets between December 23, 2021 and January 7, 2022.

The samples consist of approximately 1,000 individuals in each of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland), France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals in each of Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, and Turkey.

The samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. can be taken as representative of these countries’ general adult population under the age of 75.

The samples in Brazil, Chile, China (mainland), Colombia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey are more urban, more educated, and/or more affluent than the general population. The survey results for these countries should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more “connected” segment of their population.

The data is weighted so that each market’s sample composition best reflects the demographic profile of the adult population according to the most recent census data.

Depending on the question, the results presented in this report are based on:

• All 12,767 adults surveyed who are currently married, partnered, engaged or involved in a romantic relationship with bases ranging from 282 in Malaysia to 749 in China;
• The 7,112 among them who say they are likely to celebrate Valentine’s Day; or
• The 4,975 who say they are not likely to do so.

Where results do not sum to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses or the exclusion of don't knows or not stated responses.

The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 4.8 percentage points. For more information on the Ipsos use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website.

The publication of these findings abides by local rules and regulations.

 

 For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sanyam Sethi
Vice President, Public Affairs, Canada

[email protected]

 

About Ipsos

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