The rising cost of loving

The often arduous process of finding a partner is also an expensive journey, a survey from Bank of Montreal released this week reveals.

Singles gearing up to find a lasting partner ahead of Valentine’s Day will have to be prepared to shell out thousands of dollars to woo a potential romantic partner, the survey shows.

Canadians, on average, are spending $173 per date, the survey of some 2,500 adults found. That includes the costs of transportation, food, drinks, tickets, grooming and clothing for the occasion.

And with an average of 10 to 21 dates before Canadians commit to a partner, the BMO survey suggested that those looking for love should be ready to spend up to $3,621 before making the relationship official.

BMO economists also venture that the higher costs of dining out in recent years, alongside a turbulent economic backdrop, may put some singles off dating entirely.

Read more here while you search “affordable Valentine’s Day date spots near me.”

A permanent tax ‘holiday’?

One thing that might help Canadians on date night is the GST/HST “holiday,” which is slated to end right on Feb. 14.

The two-month reprieve on federal sales tax applies to alcohol and restaurants meals, among other expenses.

Some indicators show the tax break may have helped to increase bookings for restaurants during what’s traditionally a slower period after the holidays, while other data suggests the lift has been limited.

The early results have nonetheless got the Restaurants Canada lobby group pushing to keep the “holiday” going year-round.

“I am feeling optimistic that the government is recognizing the impact of taxing food and what that means for the average hard-working Canadian,” Restaurants Canada CEO Kelly Higginson tells Global News.

Fixed mortgage rates easing

The will-they-won’t-they tariff drama between Canada and the United States is starting to have an impact on the Canadian mortgage market.

President Donald Trump’s order signed last weekend imposing the blanket tariffs on Canadian imports led to a sharp drop in bond yields to start the week. These key metrics informing fixed mortgage rates in Canada recovered somewhat after news broke the trade tax would be “paused” for 30 days.

Victor Tran, mortgage and real estate expert at rates.ca, told Global News that some lenders in Canada lowered their fixed-rate mortgages in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s tariff declaration and the resulting bond yield drop on Monday.

Fixed rates in the market dropped between five and 10 basis points, Tran said, and largely among the smaller, monoline lenders.

Canada’s Big Six banks have yet to lower their fixed mortgage rates on offer, he explains, and are “treading cautiously” amid the ongoing uncertainty.

Read more on what the ongoing tariff uncertainty could mean for mortgages ahead of the traditionally busy spring housing market.