FLIRTING IN RELATIONSHIPS: CANADIANS TELL WHO DOES, WHO DOESN'T AND WHAT THEY DO

02.01.02

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to a poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of Hallmark Canada, Canadians appear to be a fairly flirtatious group. Eight-in-ten Canadians who are currently in relationships (73%) say that they flirt with their partner (78%), while an equal number (80%) say that their partner flirts with them. In fact, half (51%) say they flirt both at home and in public, one-third (33%) confine this activity to their home only and one percent claim to only flirt in public -- while twelve percent say they do not flirt at all at home or in public.

While Canadians appear to be happy with the amount of flirting done with their partner, four-in-ten (40%) however, wish their partner would flirt with them more - and it's men (46% versus 33% of women) who are more likely to want this from their partners, while close to six-in-ten women (61% versus 51% of men) are satisfied with their flirting partners and don't wish for more.

Of Canadians who say they flirt, eye contact (18%) is their favourite method followed by a soft or gentle kiss (11%), hand touch (10%) or suggestive talk (10%).

When feeling flirtatious at home, of those Canadians who say they flirt with their partner, half (50%) mention cooking a favourite dinner as the way they `set the mood'. Other popular methods include talking sweet words of love (43%), lighting candles (39%), or playing soft music (38%).

Asked how they would make a Valentine's Day card more special or flirtatious, over half (56%) of Canadians indicated they would include a special message - while one-in-ten would seal it with a kiss (9%) or spray it with perfume or cologne (9%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted for Hallmark Canada between January 8th and 10th, 2002. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. 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. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

Three-quarters (73%) of adult Canadians report being in some form of relationship. Of this group, seven percent report their relationship is under one year old, three percent say they have been in a relationship for one year and most (91%) report being in a relationship for more than 1 year (average of 17.7 years).

Those who are single and not in a relationship are more likely to be over 55 years of age (31%) or between 18 and 34 (29%).
Quebecers (37%) are more likely than those in other regions to say they are single and not in a relationship. While the least number of completely single Canadians are found in Ontario (22%), Atlantic Canada (21%), and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (19%).

Eight-in-ten Canadians who are currently in relationships (73%) say that they flirt with their partner (78%), while an equal number (80%) say that their partner flirts with them. As is shown in the following table, it's younger Canadians and men who are more likely to report that they flirt:

To view the table, please download the attached PDF file.

Half (51%) of Canadians in relationships say they flirt both at home and in public, one-third (33%) confine this activity to their home only and one percent claim to only flirt in public -- while twelve percent say they do not flirt at all at home or in public.

Younger Canadians (67%) are more likely to say they flirt both in private and in public, while Canadians 35 and older (37%) are more likely to say they only flirt at home.
Men (52%) and women (49%) are equally as likely to report flirting both in private and in public.

While Canadians appear to be happy with the amount of flirting done with their partner, four-in-ten (40%) wish their partner would flirt with them more.

Men (46% versus 33% of women) are more likely to want their partners to flirt more, while close to six-in-ten women (61% versus 51% of men) do not want more flirting from their partner.
More older Canadians (64%) don't care for an increase in the level of flirting from their partner when compared with their younger (53%) or middle aged (52%) counterparts.

Of Canadians who say they flirt, eye contact (18%) is their favourite method followed by a soft or gentle kiss (11%), hand touch (10%), suggestive talk (10%), body language (9%), coyness/artful playfulness (8%) or an accidental touch or body brush (7%). Other methods mentioned include a "subtle gesture" (5%) or a suggestive wink (3%). Two percent say they do all of these things. The following chart illustrates the flirting methods favoured by different age groups and between men and women:

To view the table, please download the attached PDF file.

Interestingly, more older Canadians (23%) say they do not know what their favourite flirting method, compared to 9% of middle aged Canadians and only 4% of younger Canadians.

Of those Canadians who say they flirt with their partner, half (50%) mention cooking a favourite dinner as the way they `set the mood'. Other popular methods include talking sweet words of love (43%), lighting candles (39%), playing soft music (38%) and playing a game (22%). Two percent mention going out together for dinner or a movie.

Regionally, it appears that Quebecers are more likely to do things to `set the mood' than those in other regions of the country, as noted in the following table:
To view the table, please download the attached PDF file.
The following chart illustrates the difference between the age groups regarding how they `set the mood'. Middle aged Canadians appear to lead both older and younger Canadians in suggestions to `set the mood'.
To view the table, please download the attached PDF file.
Interestingly, men and women appear to have the same ideas on how to `set the mood', as illustrated in the following table. While women are more likely to mention cooking a favourite meal (53% versus 46% of men) and lighting candles (42% versus 37% of men) than men, the rank order of suggestions is the same for both genders.
To view the table, please download the attached PDF file.

Asked how they would make a Valentine's Day card more special or flirtatious, over half (56%) of Canadians indicated they would include a special message. One-in-ten would seal it with a kiss (9%) or spray it with perfume or cologne (9%) and five percent would include flowers, three percent would include a picture of themselves, while 2% would go a step further and include a risque picture of themselves.

The table that follows illustrates the differences between the age groups and between men and women on their suggestions to make a Valentines more special.

To view the table, please download the attached PDF file.

Two-thirds (65%) of younger Canadians are likely to include a special message, while only just over four-in-ten (44%) of older Canadians would do this.
Interestingly, four percent of those between 18 and 34 said they would include a risque picture of themselves.
While women (57%) and men (55%) are equally as likely to include a special message to make a Valentines card more flirtatious, women are more likely to seal the card with a kiss (12% versus 7% of men). Men, however, are more likely to include flowers (8% versus 1% of women) than women.