Two-Thirds (66%) Describe Their Relationship with Their Mothers as "Close"

Toronto, Ontario - According to a new survey of Canadians with mothers who are still living conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of Mark's Work Warehouse, two-thirds (66%) claim the relationship they have with their mother is "close". Three in ten (27%) say they have a `not close, but friendly relationship' with their mother, while only a few claim to have either a strained (4%) or non-existent (3%) relationship.

Further, when presented with a list of personality types, two in five (40%) of this group describe their mother's personality as easy-going, followed by energetic (27%), reserved (15%), eccentric (9%) and sophisticated (6%).

Over one-third of Canadian mothers will likely be receiving flowers for Mother's Day this year. When Canadians whose still have a mother living were asked on an unaided basis what they intend to give their mother this year for Mother's Day, 36% indicated flowers. A card (18%), dinner or a meal out (11%), clothes (4%), jewellery (3%), candy/chocolates (3%), book (2%) and perfume (2%) are some of the other options that will be given this year.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted between April 9th and April 11th. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 809 adult Canadians whose mother is still alive. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.4 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.

Key findings from the survey indicate that...

Majority of Canadians Claim to Have a Close Relationship with their Mother

• Two-thirds (66%) of Canadians with a mother claim to have a close relationship with them. More than one-in-four (27%) claim the relationship to be `not close, but friendly', 4% claim a strained relationship and 3% claim the relationship to be non-existent.
• Regionally, those living in Atlantic Canada and Ontario (79% and 77% respectively), followed by those living in Sask/Manitoba and BC (74% and 71% respectively) are more likely to describe the relationship as close than Canadians living elsewhere.
• By contrast, those living in Quebec are more likely to claim their relationship with their mother as `not close, but friendly'.
• Women are more likely than men to cite the relationship they have with their mother as close (69% vs 62% respectively). Three in ten men claim the relationship is `not close but friendly' compared to only 23% of women.
• There are no real age or income differences in how Canadians describe their relationship with their mother.

Today's Mothers are Viewed as "Easy-Going" and "Energetic" By Offspring

• Regionally, those living in Atlantic Canada are more likely on average, to describe their mother as easy-going (44%), while those living in Quebec are more likely on average, to label their mothers as energetic (32%). Those living in British Columbia and Alberta are more likely to describe their mother's personality as eccentric than those living elsewhere.
• Men are more likely than women to describe their mother's personality as easy-going (44% vs. 37% respectively).
• Younger Canadians between the ages of 18-34 are more likely to describe their mother's personality as easy-going (45%), compared to 36% of Canadians 35-54 years of age and 39% of Canadians over the age of 55.
• Canadians from high-income households (60K+) are less likely to label their mothers as easy-going (36%) than those from low-income households (45%). Canadians from high-income households ($60K+) are more likely to describe their mother's personality as eccentric (11%) than among low-income households (5%).

Flowers Top Choice for Mother's Day

• Over one-third (36%) of Canadians celebrating Mother's Day this year intend to give their mother flowers. Almost one in five (18%) say they will give a card and 11% are planning a dinner or meal out.
• Men are more likely than women to cite flowers (42% vs. 29% respectively) as their intended Mother's Day gift this year and a card (21% vs. 15%).
• Flowers are the top choice across all age groups, with younger Canadians (18-34) more likely to go the flower route than Canadians over the age of 55 years (40% vs. 25% respectively). Asked only among Canadians with a mother, the results indicate that older Canadians (over the age of 55) are more likely to say they do not celebrate the event (27%) and will not be giving their mother anything on Mother's Day this year. This is in contrast to 6% of those 18-34 years of age and 13% of those 35-54 years of age either not celebrating or intending to give their mother anything for Mother's Day this year.
• Canadians from high-income households ($60K+) are more likely on average to say they will give clothes to their mother this year for Mother's Day than households with lower incomes will (7% vs. 4%).

To view the complete factum and detailed tables, please open the attached PDF files.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Carla Flamer
Senior Vice-President
Consumer Strategy Group
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900