New data on Canadian dining habits puts Alberta at the top of the country in two unexpected categories: support for child-free restaurants and willingness to complain when service is bad.

According to a new study from Lightspeed Commerce, 86 per cent of Calgary diners support child-free dining options, just behind Edmonton at 86.5 per cent — the highest of any major Canadian city in the study and well above the national average of 74 per cent. The most accepted format is adults-only dining after 8 or 9 p.m. Most restaurants aren't offering it yet.

Albertans also push back when service falls short. While Canada ranks first globally for saying nothing when service is poor — 22 per cent of Canadians simply do nothing — Edmonton diners speak up directly 38.5 per cent of the time, above the national average of 35 per cent. Across the Prairies, that number climbs to 43.7 per cent, the highest of any region in Canada.

And despite being the most vocal about their dining preferences, Albertans are also the most resistant to technology replacing human interaction at the table. Sixty per cent of Prairie diners said they have no interest in AI dining tools, compared to 56 per cent nationally