At its best, Valentine’s Day is about falling in love, being in love and letting your loved ones know they are special.

As far as we know here at The Owl, there are no standard economic indicators for tracking the amount of love flowing around out there. There are, however, a few interesting statistics that—even if Valentine’s Day is not your thing—are fun to ponder:

• According to the National Retail Federation, Valentine’s Day spending in the U.S. is expected to reach US$23.9 billion this year for an average of US$175.41 per person.
• The same survey found that 53% of U.S. consumers plan to celebrate the holiday in 2022 and that candy (56%), greeting cards (40%) and flowers (37%) are the most popular gift items.
• According to the 2016 Census (the 2021 data are not yet available), the total number of couples in private households in Canada in 2016 was 8,227,925 of which about 6.5 million were married couples and 1.7 million were common law couples. This works out to 57% of the population age 15 and over.
• About $4.1 billion worth of jewellery and watches were sold at retailers in Canada in 2017.
• Almost 527 million litres of wine worth $7.8 billion was purchased from liquor stores, agencies and other retail outlets in Canada in 2019/2020.
• The average annual expenditure on candies and chocolates by Canadian households in 2019 was $239.
• Canada imported $184.6 million worth of cut flowers and flower buds for bouquets/ornamental purposes in 2021.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Answer to the previous trivia question: Canada's largest house is an abandoned 65,000-square foot mansion on the shores of Ontario’s Lake Temiskaming.

Today’s trivia question: How much does a typical adult human heart weigh?