Black Friday, the shopping holiday that was once reserved for American malls, has taken Canada by storm in recent years. Now, a new survey shows Canadians actually prefer Black Friday to Boxing Day. 

The Retail Council of Canada just released their annual Holiday Shopping Survey for 2019 and it revealed that 43 per cent of Canadians intend to shop today compared to 34 per cent on Boxing Day.

The Retail Council of Canada says the increasing success of Black Friday is coming at the expense of other traditional holiday shopping days, like Boxing Day. Shoppers are now preferring to get deals before the gift giving season ends instead of the day after Christmas

— Dave Heintzman (@HEINTZMANEWS957) November 29, 2019

"When compared to 2018 results, the annual survey confirms that Black Friday is not a passing trend in Canada," the survey's description states.

"In fact, a growing number of Canadians have adopted the American holiday as their retail holiday of choice."

The amount of Canadians who said they intend to do holiday shopping on Black Friday this year is up 40 per cent from last year, proving the popularity of the holiday is significantly on the rise in Canada. 

The survey also found that 72 per cent of Canadians intend to do their holiday shopping in-store, while the remaining 28 per cent plan to do it all online. 

In addition, 65 per cent said they had a firm budget for their holiday spending. 

Overall, according to the survey, holiday spending is expected to decrease from last year. While the average Canadian spent $824 on holiday shopping in 2018, that number is expected to drop slightly to $792 in 2019. 

It seems Canadians are noticing the shifting trend, too. Some have even taken to social media to express their thoughts on the matter.

"Based on the crowds for Black Friday in Canada, what’s going to happen to Boxing Day now?" one Twitter user wrote. 

"Boxing Day (Dec.26) used to be Canada’s biggest shopping day of the year but now it’s the U.S.’s Black Friday. We’re so easily influenced, eh? Next we’ll be calling candy floss 'cotton candy!' It’s made from floss sugar and it’s NOT cotton! Get a grip, Yanks!" another wrote. 

And some are expressing concerns about how this is affecting retail workers. 

I HATTTEEEE how American companies have made Black Friday a thing in Canada too. 5-10 years ago canadians didn’t even care about black friday, but now retail workers have to suffer on boxing day AND BLACK FRIDAY!!!! AND WE DONT EVEN GET HOLIDAY PAY. AMERICA BLEEZ EXPLAIN.

— H E N N Y (@hennaahmedx) November 29, 2019

But despite the clear influence the U.S. has had on Canadians' shopping habits, the RCC survey revealed that 85 per cent of respondents still consider it important to buy from a retailer within Canada this holiday season.