About Two-Thirds Say Valentine's Not Important

| Filed under: National
CC image courtesy of Lisa M. Wiedmeier: https://bit.ly/2TLjzg2

About Two-Thirds Say Valentine's Not Important

More than three-quarters don't even consider it a holiday

Toronto, Feb 12th - In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 1117 Canadians 18 years of age or older, 8 in 10 (80%) Canadians say they don't think that Valentine’s Day is a holiday. 

 

About one-fifth (20%) do consider Valentine's Day a holiday.

 

Respondents who are single are more likely to consider Valentine’s Day as a holiday than those who are married. About a third (30%) of single respondents consider Valentine’s Day a holiday, while only about one-sixth (14%) of married respondents felt the same.  

 

6 in 10 do not think that Valentine’s Day is important

The majority of Canadians (BTM2: 61%) say that Valentine’s Day is not important to them with 1 in 4 (27%) reporting that it is not very important, and 1 in 3 (34%) reporting that it is not important at all.  There was no difference in the responses based on gender, with men and women reporting similar results.

4 in 10 (TOP2: 38%) reported that Valentine’s Day is important to them with 1 in 4 (24%) reporting that it is somewhat important while roughly 1 in 7 (14%) reporting that it is very important.

 Those who are single or divorced were more likely to report that Valentine’s Day was not important to them than those who are in a relationship.

 Over 6 in 10 of those who are single (BTM2: 68%) and divorced (BTM2: 66%) did not consider Valentine’s Day important.  5 in 10 (51%) of those in a relationship felt the same.



 Married people are less likely to give gifts

Over 7 in 10 (76%) of those who are divorced, 8 in 10 (80%) of those who are in a relationship and nearly 9 in 10 (86%) of those who are common law plan to give a gift this year. However, just over 6 in 10 (64%) of those who are married plan to give a gift.


Younger Canadians and parents more likely to celebrate Valentine’s Day

About 1 in 2 (53%) say they do not usually celebrate Valentine’s Day.

1 in 2 (53%) of those aged between 18 – 34 said they usually celebrate Valentine’s Day. Older Canadians are less likely to say they celebrate Valentine's Day, with only 2 in 5 (40%) of those aged between 45-54 celebrating Valentine’s Day.

Canadians with children are more likely to celebrate Valentine’s Day, with almost two-thirds (59%) of those with children usually celebrating Valentine’s Day compared to 2 in 5 (42%) without children.

The majority of those in a relationship (57%) and common-law relationships (56%) celebrate Valentine’s Day, while about half  (50%) of those who are married also celebrate.

Nearly 6 in 10 of those who are single (62%) or divorced (58%) do not usually celebrate Valentine’s Day.

The plurality expect to spend the most on food

Expectations for potential Valentine’s Day gifts varied. 36% of Canadians expect to spend the most on a meal, 15% on chocolate or candy, 10% on flowers, 6% on jewelry, 4% on clothing, 4% on gift card, 23% on something else.

Majority will not post about their Valentine’s Day plans on social media

Over 8 in 10 (86%) Canadians will not post about Valentine’s Day, while (14%) stated otherwise. Unsurprisingly, nearly 1 in 4 (23%) younger respondents between the ages of 18-34 will post about their Valentine’s Day compared to 1 in 10 (10%) of those between 35-44.

Of those who do plan to post about their plans, 41% will post about their significant other, 32% will post about Valentine’s Day in general, 17% will post the gift they receive and 9% will post about the gift they are giving.

The best opportunity to show you care?

4 in 10 (BTM2: 43%) do not agree that Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to demonstrate how much they care. 3 in 10 (TOP2: 32%) do agree that Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to demonstrate how much they care while 1 in 4 (25%) neither agree nor disagree.

44% (TOP2) of those who are divorced agree that Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to demonstrate how much they care while only 31% (TOP2) of those who are married stated the same.

Majority believe Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday

More than  half (57%) agree that Valentine’s Day is more or less a commercial holiday, while 1 in 4 (26%) do not. 1 in 5 (17%) neither agree nor disagree.

Women were slightly more likely to believe Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday than men with (TOP2: 60%) of women agreeing compared to (TOP2: 55%) of men.

 

“The majority of Canadians say Valentine's Day isn't important to them,” said Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. "Interestingly, more than three-quarters don't even consider Valentine's a holiday."

Lorne Bozinoff, Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.