# Black Friday in Canada? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-friday-in-canada/738300 "2015-11-22T20:12:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-friday-in-canada/738300/1 "2015-11-22T20:12:12Z")
I see that there are Canadian stores advertising their Black Friday sales. How does that work? Canada doesn’t have a holiday on November 26 so there’s no reason why people would be taking the next day off. Are Canadian stores expecting an influx of American shoppers crossing the border? Or is it businesses decided that if they’re already advertising for American sales they might as well hit the Canadian market on the same day? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-friday-in-canada/738300/2 "2015-11-22T20:25:18Z")
Canadian retailers are desperately hoping to train Canadians to attend such events. So far with limited success. Personally, I’m hoping after a couple of years of mobbing crowds NOT turning up, they’ll let it die the horrible death it deserves. I mean, who wants to give up a vacation day, (which Canadians don’t even get!), to shop with a mob of rabid maniacs? Just to get a deal on a flat screen tv? Not for me thanks anyway! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-friday-in-canada/738300/3 "2015-11-22T21:30:53Z")
I think some of it is simply Canadian retailers getting in on the hype. The sales are no different that every other sale at every other time of year. In other words, it’s just business as usual, and instead of naming this the “Late November Special Sale”, they name it “Black Friday Sale” in the hopes of getting someone to buy some crap because they think they’re getting a special deal. These “Black Friday Sale” events in Canada pretty much take place over the weekend, and are identical to the “Fantastic October Savings” event, and the “Summer Madness” event and the “May Total Blowout Giveaway Event”, and the “Amazing Stupendous February Sale” etc. etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-friday-in-canada/738300/4 "2015-11-22T21:38:27Z")
Some retailers have tried training us here to pick up this ‘Black Friday’ in the last year or two. Most of us went ‘Meh’. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-friday-in-canada/738300/5 "2015-11-22T22:50:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I see that there are Canadian stores advertising their Black Friday sales. How does that work? Canada doesn’t have a holiday on November 26 so there’s no reason why people would be taking the next day off. Are Canadian stores expecting an influx of American shoppers crossing the border? Or is it businesses decided that if they’re already advertising for American sales they might as well hit the Canadian market on the same day? A lot of traffic goes south for the BF sales, they are simply trying to keep the dollars at home. Normally what would be our BF is Boxing day, but I have not seen any real deals, or heard of any, on either of those two days. Declan ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-friday-in-canada/738300/6 "2015-11-23T03:28:29Z")
Last year at this time I was in Bucharest. They were heavily advertising Black Friday sales, even though Romania has no Thanksgiving holiday at all. I think that worldwide it has become a symbol of big sales decoupled from Thanksgiving. ---
**Author:** ![kbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbear)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-friday-in-canada/738300/7 "2015-11-23T14:16:20Z")
There has been an effort to import Black Friday here in the UK as well. One major retailer, ASDA, who ironically helped bring it here a few years ago, was so appalled by the people rampaging through their stores to buy a piece of shit TV that they are refusing to do it this year. Yay. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-friday-in-canada/738300/8 "2015-11-23T14:18:40Z")
As I bitch about every year, it’s about damn time Canada starts it. Half of Ontario clogs up our roads here in the Detroit area every year at this time. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-friday-in-canada/738300/9 "2015-11-23T15:28:11Z")
Stores are just free riding on all the advertising we get from 'Merica. I’m hoping to score some deals even though it’s a meaningless holiday to us. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-friday-in-canada/738300/10 "2015-11-24T20:54:12Z")
Just another BS marketing ploy to get us to part with our cash for things you didn’t know you needed because it was such a good deal. Just about as annoying as the whole Boxing week sales after Christmas promising great deals. Might have been true 15 years ago, not so much now… ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-friday-in-canada/738300/11 "2015-11-24T21:52:13Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > As I bitch about every year, it’s about damn time Canada starts it. Half of Ontario clogs up our roads here in the Detroit area every year at this time. People from Ontario go to Detroit? :eek: 😉