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.
