Research |
The impact of COVID-19 on Thanksgiving
October 7, 2020
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One in 3 Manitobans are cancelling Thanksgiving because of COVID-19.
Manitobans appear to be taking the new restrictions in many health regions seriously, as 1 in 3 Manitobans who celebrate Thanksgiving are planning on cancelling their normal Thanksgiving celebrations. In addition, another 51% say they are reducing the number of people they are having for Thanksgiving.
Just 19% of those who celebrate Thanksgiving are not planning on making any changes due to COVID-19. This may be because they were already having small dinners or dinners without guests from outside their household.
Younger Manitobans and those living outside of Winnipeg are most likely cancelling Thanksgiving
There are two groups that stand out from their counterparts when cancelling Thanksgiving — non-Winnipeggers and Manitobans 18 to 29. The former group makes sense, given the recent move to the restricted (orange) level for the Winnipeg health region and surrounding communities in late September.
However, the higher rate of cancelling Thanksgiving for those 18 to 29 is somewhat surprising, given that this age group has been in the news recently as one that is contracting COVID-19 at a rate faster than other age groups, indicating behaviours that may not align with best practices for reducing risk. Perhaps younger people are heeding the warnings, or perhaps some of the older age groups are simply telling them Thanksgiving is cancelled this year and continuing without them.
METHODOLOGY
PRA conducted the survey from October 2 - 5, 2020, using its Manitoba Panel. In total, 1,000 Manitobans completed the survey.
Because this sample is a non-probability sample, no error rate can be calculated. A random population survey of this size would yield an error rate of ± 3.1% (19 times out of 20).
As any sample may not represent the population perfectly, PRA corrects statistically for discrepancies in gender, age, and income to ensure that the sample corresponds as closely as possible to Statistics Canada information.
PRA Inc. sponsored these questions independently.
No other organization, public or private, funded this study in whole or in part.
For more information about the research, please contact Nicholas Borodenko, partner, at borodenko@pra.ca
(204) 987-2030 or toll-free at 1-888-877-6744
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