Canadians love Valentine's Day: Survey

In these cynical times, professing a love of Valentine's Day has the same effect as making Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On your ringtone. Unless you're being ironic, it's a one-way ticket to pariahdom.

A new national survey, however, reveals Canadians aren't as hard-hearted as they put on. Turns out, nearly nine in 10 adults who participate in the so-called Hallmark holiday give gifts to loved ones because they want to, not because they feel they have to.

And in the case of author W.P. Kinsella, Feb. 14 is the only date each year he sends cards or presents.

"It's a time to tell the people you love that you love them," says Kinsella, whose novel Shoeless Joe was adapted into the movie Field of Dreams.

"I think everyone needs to be reminded of that."

The author names Valentine's his favourite observance because of its celebration of love, relationship renewal and embrace of stealthy romantic gestures.

He recalls a Feb. 14 in grade school, for example, when he left a pair of 20-cent barrettes he bought at Woolworth's on the desk of his crush, creating "a great furor" among his classmates over the identity of the girl's secret admirer.

"I'd like to be able to do that again," says Kinsella, laughing.

Dan Brodribb, a comedian from Edmonton, loves Valentine's Day because it's a "socially acceptable" opportunity to show appreciation for the women he cares about.

"A lot of people have a hard time accepting gifts for no reason," says Brodribb, who pens a column on relationships. "But on Feb. 14, you can just point to the calendar and say: 'Sorry, sweetie, those are the rules. We might as well stop feeling guilty and enjoy the time together.' "

According to a 1,013-person survey commissioned by MasterCard Canada, 81 per cent of men and 93 per cent of women who celebrate Valentine's Day say they give gifts because they want to, not out of a sense of obligation. Seventy-two per cent give something to their significant other, 50 per cent to their parents, 47 per cent to friends, 42 per cent to siblings and 10 per cent to colleagues.

The majority (67 per cent) will spend less than $50 total, with cards, dinner out, candy or chocolate and flowers representing the most popular gifts. Less common tokens of affection named by respondents included tools, appliances, adult toys and, in one case, a rubber chicken.

"You don't have to spend a lot to say a lot," says Julie Wilson, director of public affairs for MasterCard. "The first time my significant other told me he loved me it was on Valentine's Day, and he (said) it in a card. . . . That little piece of paper that cost him $3 means the world to me."

The survey, conducted by Research House from Jan. 25 to 29, is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.