Six In Ten Think A Rose Named In Honour Of Mother (60%) Or Spouse (60%) Is A Unique And Thoughtful Mother's Day Gift

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to a new Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of Hallmark Canada and released today, six in ten Canadians think that having a rose named in honour of their still living mother (60%) or their spouse (60%) would be a unique and thoughtful gift for Mother's Day. However, nearly half of the husbands or common law partners with children (48%) polled said this gift would be less impressive than giving their wife or partner a vacuum.

Nearly six in ten Canadians who's mother is still living (56%) believe that their mother does not favour one sibling over another. Amongst those who feel they are their mother's favourite child, 62% do not think a having a rose named in her honour would enhance their position. Amongst those who do not feel they are the favourite, nine in ten (93%) say having a rose named in her honour would not move them into the position of favourite.

Less than a fifth of Canadians whose mother is still living (17%) claim to have forgotten to celebrate a Mother's Day, but 34% say their mother would be extremely (17%) or very (18%) disappointed if they forgot and 42% of married/common law men with children say their wife/partner would be extremely (19%) or very (22%) disappointed if they forgot.

Three quarters (75%) of married/common law Canadians who's mothers are still alive say that it is they who tend to buy the Mother's Day card and gift for their mother, while four in ten (42%) married/common law Canadians whose mother in law are still alive tend to buy the card and gift for their mother in laws.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of Hallmark Canada between April 15th and 17th, 2003. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,006 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 2001 Census data.

Six in Ten (60%) Think a Rose Named in Honour of Mother or Spouse is a Unique and Thoughtful Gift for Mother's Day

Six in ten Canadians think that having a rose named in honour of their still living mother (60%) or spouse (60%) would be a unique and thoughtful gift for Mother's Day.

• Atlantic Canadians (77%) are those Canadians most apt to believe that having a rose named in honour of their still living mother would be a unique and thoughtful gift for Mother's Day, followed by residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (66%), Ontario (64%), Alberta (58%), British Columbia (55%), and Quebec (51%). Canadians from low (68%) and middle (67%) income households are significantly more likely than Canadians from high income households (51%) to think this way.

When asked if having a rose named in honour of their still living mother would be more impressive, less impressive or about the same as a number of other possible Mother's Day gifts, a majority of Canadians whose mother is still living (more impressive 51% - less impressive 26%; net +25) consider a rose named in honour of their mother to be more impressive than "taking her out for brunch or dinner"; a large proportion (more impressive 48% - less impressive 29%; net +19) consider the rose to be more impressive than "giving her a day away from household responsibilities"; more impressive than "giving her a gift certificate to her favourite store" (more impressive 45% - less impressive 30%; net +15); more impressive than "giving her a day at a spa" (more impressive 43% - less impressive 33%; net +10); more impressive than "giving her a vacuum" (more impressive 41% - less impressive 39%; net +10); and more impressive than "giving her a piece of jewellery" (more impressive 37% - less impressive 32%; net +5).

The differences between men's and women's feelings on this matter are as follows:

• A rose named in honour of their mother is more impressive than "taking her out for brunch or dinner"--men 52% (net +28) versus women 51% (net +22)
• A rose named in honour of their mother is more impressive than "giving her a day away from household responsibilities"--men 50% (net +26) versus women 45% (net +12)
• A rose named in honour of their mother is more impressive than "giving her a gift certificate to her favourite store"--men 44% (net +15) versus women 46% (net +15)
• A rose named in honour of their mother is more impressive than "giving her a day at a spa"--men 45% (net +19) versus women 41% (net +2)
• A rose named in honour of their mother is more impressive than "giving her a vacuum"--men 37% (net -3) versus women 45% (net +7)
• A rose named in honour of their mother is more impressive than "giving her a piece of jewellery"--men 38% (net +11) versus women 36% (net -1)

More than half of the married/common law men with children polled (more impressive 58% - less impressive 26%; net +32) think a rose named in honour of their wife or common law partner to be more impressive than "taking her out for brunch or dinner"; a large proportion (more impressive 48% - less impressive 26%; net +22) consider the rose to be more impressive than "giving her a piece of jewellery"; more impressive than "giving her a gift certificate to her favourite store" (more impressive 46% - less impressive 26%; net +20); more impressive than "giving her a day away from household responsibilities" (more impressive 42% - less impressive 28%; net +14); and more impressive than "giving her a day at a spa" (more impressive 39% - less impressive 31%; net +8). Meanwhile, only 28% of married/common law men with children polled believe having a rose named in their wife's or partner's honour is more impressive than "giving her a vacuum"--nearly half (48%) say it is less impressive (net -20).

Nearly Six in Ten Canadians (56%) Say their Mother Doesn't Have a Favourite and Having a Rose Named After Her Wouldn't Make a Difference

Nearly six in ten Canadians (56%) say their living mother doesn't favour one sibling over another, while close to a fifth (18%) say they are their mother's favourite and a similar proportion (19%) say one of their siblings is the favourite child.

Amongst those who feel they are the favourite, 62% don't think a rose named in her honour would enhance their position, while 37% think it would. Amongst those who do not feel they are the favourite, nine in ten (93%) say the rose would not move them into the favourite position, while 5% think it would.

Less than a Fifth (17%) have Forgotten a Mother's Day, but Say Mother (34%) and/or Spouse (42%) Would be Extremely or Very Disappointed if They Did

Less than a fifth of Canadians whose mother is still living (17%) claim to have forgotten to celebrate a Mother's Day, but 34% say their mother would be extremely (17%) or very (18%) disappointed if they forgot to honour her on Mother's Day, and 42% of married/common law men with children say their wife/partner would be extremely (19%) or very (22%) disappointed if they forgot.

• There is a significantly greater number of men (24%) than women (10%) who have forgotten Mother's Day, while there is a significantly larger proportion of women (89%) than men (76%) who report not having forgotten to celebrate a Mother's Day.
• There is a significantly greater number of women (39%) than men (30%) who believe their mother would be really disappointed if they forgot to honour her on Mother's Day, while there is a significantly larger proportion of men (68%) than women (60%) who do not think she would be really disappointed.

Three Quarters (75%) Say they Buy the Mother's Day Card and Gift for their Mother, While Four in Ten (42%) Buy the Card and Gift for Their Spouse's Mother

Three quarters of Canadians (75%) say that it is they who tend to buy the Mother's Day card and gift for their own mother, while one in five (21%) say it is their spouse or partner who tends to buy the gift and card for their mother. Four in ten (42%) Canadians tend to buy the card and gift for their spouse's mother, while half (52%) say it is their spouse who tends to buy the gift or card for their own mother.

• There is a significantly greater number of women (93%) than men (53%) who tend to buy the Mother's Day card and gift for their own mother, while there is a significantly larger proportion of men (41%) than women (4%) who say it is their spouse who tends to buy the Mother's Day card and gift for their mother.
• There is a significantly greater number of women (69%) than men (15%) who tend to buy the Mother's Day card and gift for their spouse's mother, while there is a significantly larger proportion of men (81%) than women (25%) who say it is their spouse who tends to buy the Mother's Day card and gift for their own mother.

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