It's been a good year for moms, apparently: Canadians plan to spend more on gifts for Mother's Day this year than they did last year, according to a poll conducted for the Bank of Montreal.
Canadians will spend an average of $107, compared to a mere $84 last year, the BMO-Pollara poll found.
While not considered a leading economic indicator, the large jump in Mother's Day spending intentions will come as good news to florists, greeting card manufacturers and the Keg restaurant chain.
According to the poll, 68 per cent of respondents are planning to give their mom a gift this year. That is down from 73 per cent in last year's BMO Mother's Day survey, a difference that could be accounted for by the poll's margin of error, should your mother ask.
As well this year, 47 per cent of Canadians plan to buy their mom a card, 45 per cent will throw in flowers, and 38 per cent will take her out to a restaurant once she gets home from work and gets the kids in bed.
The most generous children are in Alberta ($120) and Ontario ($122), in terms of average dollars spent. Typically, men are planning to spend more than women on their mothers ($119 versus $96), a disparity that can be traced to that time your idiot younger brother got to stay out all night at age 16 after you had to wait until you were 18.
The BMO Mother's Day Survey was conducted by Pollara. Survey results cited are from online interviews with a random sample of 1,000 Canadians 18 years of age and over, conducted between April 25 and April 29, 2013. As a guideline, a probability sample of this size would yield results accurate to plus/minus 3 per cent, 19 times out of 20. Data has been weighted by region, gender, and age, based on the most recent Census figures, so that it is representative of all adult Canadians.