Canadians getting ready for the holiday season and anticipating Christmas have a big decision to make for their homes: A real Christmas tree or an artificial one?
Holiday season is in full swing. At OntarioBets.com, we took a break from reviewing Ontario casino apps because we were curious if locals in the country prefer real or artificial Christmas trees. Using Google Trends, we compared the search interest scores for “real Christmas trees” against “artificial Christmas trees.” The search period was from Nov. 30 to Dec. 25, 2023, and we filtered the search to only include Canada.
Type | Score |
Real Tree | 34 |
Artificial Tree | 16 |
Canadians overwhelmingly prefer real Christmas trees to artificial ones. According to our research, real trees drew a search interest score of 34 during the period in question, compared to 16 for artificial ones. The province with Ontario online casinos was one of the ones strongly leaning toward real trees (see below).
One interesting aspect of this is comparing Canadian tastes with their neighbors to the south. We surveyed 10 states and found that the United States is split: Five states preferred artificial trees, four states searched more for real trees, with one tie. Next door in Michigan, residents searched more for artificial trees, with a search interest score of 18 for that option compared to 10 for real trees. Across Lake Erie in Ohio, it was the same story, with artificial trees winning 13-9.
Province | Type | Percentage of Preference |
Ontario | Real Tree | 61% |
Quebec | Real Tree | 69% |
Alberta | Real Tree | 72% |
Manitoba | Real Tree | 65% |
Nova Scotia | Real Tree | 62% |
Saskatchewan | Real Tree | 61% |
British Columbia | Real Tree | 58% |
New Brunswick | Artificial Tree | 100% |
The eight provinces we surveyed were nearly unanimous in searching for real trees more often than artificial ones. The only exception was New Brunswick – its total preference for artificial trees might partly be attributed to a small sample size.
In Canada’s largest province, the home of Ontario betting sites, real trees won out, 61% to 39%. Alberta was even more pronounced in its love for the real thing, with 72% of searches leaning that way. Of the seven provinces that chose real trees, the only one below 60% was British Columbia, at 58%.
The Destination Ontario tourism site has a list of Christmas tree farms in the southern part of the province, from Toronto to Ottawa and beyond. The site says that, “Whether you want to cut down your own Christmas tree or choose a pre-cut tree, the scent and freshness of a real tree adds so much to the festive cheer of the season.”
It seems most Canadians agree. For a further boost in holiday spirit, check out our list of Ontario’s favourite Christmas movies at OntarioBets.com.
Author
Jim Tomlin is an editor and writer specializing in sports, gambling and the intersection of those industries. He has 30+ years of journalism experience and his work has appeared in the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition.
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