The cost of living is squeezing Canadians ahead of the holiday shopping season, but many say they’d be willing to spend more under one condition – if they’re buying Canadian.
The ‘Buy Canadian’ sentiment seems on track to withstand the holiday spending squeeze, a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers found on Tuesday.
Nearly three out of four (72 per cent) say they are seeking alternatives to U.S.-made goods, with more than half (54 per cent) saying they will be willing to pay more for goods made in Canada, PwC’s 2026 Canadian holiday outlook said.
This is despite budget pressures, which have meant Canadians plan to spend 11 per cent less on holiday shopping overall, it added.
Get breaking National news
Canadians plan to spend an average of $1,487 this holiday season, the report said.
“Canadians are cutting back, but they’re drawing a hard line on where their money goes,” said Adam Boutros, partner and national consumer markets leader at PwC Canada.
This year’s budget squeeze is coming primarily from older Canadians. Gen X Canadians are planning to spend 21 per cent less, while baby boomers are cutting back by 18 per cent.
In contrast, Gen Z Canadians are planning to spend eight per cent more this year than they did last year.
- Alberta’s stuffed gopher museum closes as owners seek new burrow
- U.S. class action lawsuit alleges Starbucks mislabelled sugar-free drinks
- Emera inks Canadian Utilities merger deal with ATCO to create $72B energy ‘powerhouse’
- Trump signs order allowing for wider use of dyed diesel amid soaring prices
Households with children continue to be the main driver of holiday spending, with those households planning to spend twice as much over the holidays compared to child-free households.
Canadians are also changing where they look for deals, with more than a quarter (28 per cent) planning to use AI tools to shop for the holidays. This is up sharply from 17 per cent in 2025.
Shoppers are planning to use AI tools to research products, compare items, discover gift ideas and, in some cases, make purchases.
However, stores remain the top way to shop, with 40 per cent saying they plan to use both physical and online stores.
Elbows up, Ben,!
@ Ben if you pay for my groceries I will buy Canadian. I buy by price and as for the oranges and Lemons from South Africa I wouldn’t take them if they were free because they are garbage
100 percent support buying Canadian, or at least, not American.
So parents are going to tell their kids they won’t be getting the Christmas gifts they want because they weren’t made in Canada I don’t think so. Also prices will be the main driver in how much and where people spend their money. It’s easy to answer the polls to say what they think Canadians want to hear and sound patriotic fact is prices are going up and Canadians have less disposable income than ever before and it will be worse for the Canadians that have already lost their jobs.
Nope! Very few people are doing this Buy Canadian bull sh *t. Things are too expensive. The Canadian media and Liberal politicians and their Wlbows Up moron voters need to get over their inferiority complex.
I wear a sign on my coat with the Canadian flag and “Buy Canadian or anything else other than US” Sorry but until the orange tyrant is gone it’s Canada first! As a result I have found some great products form other countries.
Insufferable Ben doesn’t know what viable data looks like.
Insufferable Ben doesn’t now what viable data looks like.
More meaningless unquantifiable data that does little more than express emotion and identities that may or may not fall within the realm of reality.
If the US Turkey is a nickel less, I will buy it over subsidizing Canada’s grocery cartels.
Great news. Glad to see elbows up is persisting, and I’m very proud of my fellow Canadians!
Just keep your elbows up, support Carney and see what happens…
Oh and ALWAYS, always buy Canadian even if it’s 5 times more expensive than American. Go to Walmart, Costco… yeah! (sarcasm)
We are doomed and there’s no light at the end of the tunnel…
I haven’t once thought of trying to ‘buy Canadian’.
You don’t say… After 11 years of mismanagement by the LPC. When will all the sheep wake up and finally say what they have been doing isn’t working?