Three-in-ten Canadians believe this year’s holiday season will be “more stressful than fun”.
Vancouver, BC [December 22, 2025] – For the first time in six years, more than two thirds of Canadians express a fondness for a particular greeting of the season, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 67% of Canadians say they prefer “Merry Christmas”, up five points since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in December 2024.
Fewer than one-in-five Canadians (18%, -6) are partial to “Happy Holidays” as a greeting, while 16% (+2) are not sure or don’t care either way.
More than seven-in-ten Atlantic Canadians (77%) and Albertans (72%) choose “Merry Christmas”, along with majorities of respondents who reside in British Columbia (68%), Ontario (67%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (66%) and Quebec (59%).
Almost four-in-five Canadians who voted for the Conservative Party in this year’s federal election (79%) prefer “Merry Christmas” as a greeting. The proportions are lower among Canadians who cast ballots for the Liberal Party (63%) or the New Democratic Party (NDP) (51%).
More than half of Canadians (52%, -1) expect this year’s holiday season to be more fun than stressful, while three-in-ten (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.”
Expectations of a stressful holiday season are more prevalent in Atlantic Canada (38%), followed by Alberta (34%), Ontario (33%), British Columbia (30%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (24%) and Quebec (23%).
When asked about some staples of the holiday season, more than four-in-five Canadians (82%, -3) say they like turkey, while almost two thirds (65%, -3) enjoy cranberry sauce.
Fewer Canadians are fond of Brussels sprouts (59%, -1), fruit cake (58%, =), egg nog (55%, -4), mince pies (49%, =), plum pudding (44%, -3) and mulled wine (36%, -4).
While half of Baby Boomers (50%) like plum pudding, the proportions are lower among members of Generation X (42%), Millennials (41%) and Generation Z (39%).
Egg nog is liked by more than half of respondents in Alberta (64%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (63%), Atlantic Canada (58%), Ontario (56%) and British Columbia (55%). In Quebec, only 47% of residents concur.
Respondents to this survey were also asked how old they were when they learned “the truth” about Santa Claus. Most Canadians (56%) realized at age 9 or younger, while fewer than three-in-ten (28%) found out at age 10 or older.
Canadians aged 18-to-34 are more likely to have found out “the truth” about Santa Claus after their 10th birthday (33%) than their counterparts aged 35-to-54 (31%) and aged 55 and over (21%).
For a majority of Canadians (52%), the appropriate time for children to learn “the truth” about Santa Claus is age 9 or younger, but more than a third (36%) think the revelation should take place at age 10 or older.
Half of Atlantic Canadians (50%) say “the truth” about Santa Claus should be told to children after they turn 10. Fewer residents of Ontario (43%), Alberta (39%), British Columbia (32%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (37%) and Quebec (23%) share this view.
More than seven-in-ten Canadians (72%) acknowledge being satisfied with the way their parents and/or caregivers managed conversations about “the truth” when it comes to Santa Claus, while 13% are dissatisfied.
On this question, dissatisfaction is higher among Canadians aged 18-to-34 (20%) than among those aged 35-to-54 (14%) and those aged 55 and over (7%).
On a regional basis, Ontario is home to the largest proportion of dissatisfied respondents on the way parents and/or caregivers handled conversations about Santa Claus (16%), followed by Quebec (15%), Atlantic Canada (14%), Alberta (also 14%), British Columbia (10%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (9%).
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from December 7 to December 9, 2025, among a representative sample of 1,002 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca