'Merry Christmas' preferred by most Canadians: Poll

Merry Christmas to all — or at least to the two-thirds of Canadians who favour the traditional season greeting, according to new poll results.

The data, released by Research Co., found that “Merry Christmas” was preferred by 67% of respondents, a rise of five points since a similar Research Co. survey was conducted in December 2024, and a six-year high for the Christmas-specific greeting.

By contrast, fewer than one in five Canadians (18%) are partial to “Happy Holidays” as a greeting — a decline of six points since the most recent survey — while 16% said they were not sure or don’t care either way.

The survey did not provide any other greeting options.

Conservative voters prefer ‘Merry Christmas’ greeting

The survey results suggested that those who voted Conservative in this year’s election were more likely to prefer “Merry Christmas” (79%) than those who voted Liberal (64%) or NDP (51%).

The polling company also took stock of the public’s appetite for holiday drinks and dishes. It found that Brussels sprouts were more popular among respondents than egg nog (enjoyed by 59% and 55%, respectively).

The most popular item on the survey was turkey, enjoyed by 82% of respondents, while mulled wine was the least popular, enjoyed by only 36%.

About Saint Nick …

The survey also asked respondents when to tell children “the truth” about Santa Claus, to which age 10 was the most common answer (17%), followed by age eight (12%)

Eight percent of respondents said children should be allowed to believe in Santa into their teenage years, while 11% said it was appropriate to disabuse them of that notion by age five or earlier.

Stressful time of year?

More than half of Canadians (52%) expect this year’s holiday season to be more fun than stressful, while three in 10 (30%) believe it will be more stressful than fun.

“More than a third of Generation X members in Canada (34%) foresee a stressful holiday season,” says Mario Canseco, president of Research Co. “Fewer Millennials (31%), Generation Z (29%) and Baby Boomers (27%) share this feeling.”

The full results are available on the Research Co. website.

Conducted Dec. 7-9, the online survey of 1,002 adults in Canada has a margin of error of 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

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