Most Canadians now planning ‘pretty significant’ holiday spending cutbacks

Survey data shows Canadian holiday shoppers are focused on affordability and supporting local amid the trade war, especially younger Canadians.

The holiday shopping season is just around the corner, and a new report finds more than 80 per cent of Canadians plan to spend less overall as the cost-of-living pressures bite.

Many also say they want to “Buy Canadian” and skip cross-border shopping.

“Consumers would have the intention and would probably love to spend more money this year, but I think the reality of the economic situation is that they’re just not able to,” said national consumer markets leader Elisa Swern at PwC Canada, which conducted the survey.

“(Canadians) are planning on cutting back spending this year. We’ve typically seen a slight increase year over year when we conduct these surveys. Overall, consumers are planning to spend 10 per cent less than they did last year, which is pretty significant.”

PwC Canada released its 2025 Canadian Holiday Outlook report on Tuesday, which surveyed 1,020 Canadian shoppers between July 21 and 29 about their plans for spending.

Eighty-one per cent of Canadian respondents said they plan on cutting back on spending.

On average, Canadians nationally said they expect to spend $1,675 during the holiday season, which is down 10 per cent from last year, and the numbers vary dramatically when it comes to different age demographics, as the job market and cost of living continue to be major challenges.

The survey found that younger Canadians were far more likely to say they plan to spend less than older generations this year compared with last year.