Canadians Are Set to Paint Black Friday Maple Leaf Red This Year

New survey from Square finds 62% of Canadians are strictly supporting neighbourhood businesses this Black Friday weekend – even if it costs more

Canadians are putting their loonies behind their “glowing hearts” this holiday season. According to a new survey released today by technology company Square, 62% of Canadians said they plan to go “pro-Canada” this Black Friday – with 62% reporting they’ll allocate more of their holiday budgets to support locally-owned, neighbourhood retailers.

While Black Friday has long been a cross-border shopping moment, that tide is turning. The majority (61%) of Canadians believe their communities will focus on supporting local businesses this year, compared to previous years when 57% shopped interchangeably from U.S. and Canadian retailers.

“This holiday season, we expect Canada’s Main Streets to truly shine,” says Lindsey Irvine, Chief Marketing Officer at Square. “Square is built to help local businesses run and grow — from streamlining operations to managing costs — so they can focus more time on what really matters: their customers. When sellers have the right tools to thrive, entire neighbourhoods grow stronger.”

Canadians Are Spending More to Support Canadians

Of those planning to allocate more of their holiday gifting and entertainment budgets to support Canadian-owned retailers this year, more than half (54%) are willing to pay up to 50% more to buy Canadian.

According to Square’s survey, the “Buy Canadian” movement is also playing out strongly in neighbourhood-based restaurants, cafés and bars:

• 66% of Canadians say they’re supporting more neighbourhood-owned restaurants than they did a year ago, and agree it “feels like a lasting, long-term change.”
• 57% are making a special effort to meet friends and family at locally owned restaurants — a trend strongest among women (61%) and adults 35+ (59%).
• 82% say it simply “feels good” to support their neighbours and community-owned businesses.
• 7 in 10 Canadians report that local restaurants have a more homely feel (72%), are more likely to champion their communities (70%) and have friendlier staff (64%) who are “more likely to know my name” (53%).

Watch Neighbourhood Economies Come Alive in Real Time

Canadians will be able to see the power of local spending in real time beginning November 28, 2025, through Cyber Monday. Square and Afterpay will track Black Friday weekend transactions across its Canadian network, highlighting how communities nationwide support neighbourhood economies. To follow along, visit block.xyz.

Methodology

Leger conducted the national omnibus survey for Square during October 10 to 12, 2025. Leger surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,537 Canadian residents aged 18 and older who are members of Leger’s online panel, balanced and weighted on age, gender, region, education, and language. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of 1,537 respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.5%, 19 times out of 20.