People in Canada aren't able to travel internationally, enjoy a meal at a restaurant or even watch hockey right now, but it turns out all we really want is a hug.

A recent survey by Angus Reid found that 45 per cent of Canadians are most looking forward to giving their family and friends a hug when things go "back to normal."

Reconnecting with people (34 per cent) and going to a restaurant, cafe or bar (31 per cent) also scored pretty high.

Eager to reconnect: Canadians most excited to hug friends, eat out, go back to work when COVID-19 threat recedeshttps://t.co/Ad8ANMZfSE pic.twitter.com/F5k0GfAQFa

— Angus Reid Institute (@angusreidorg) April 13, 2020

Surprisingly, only 6 per cent of Canadians said they were looking forward to going to a hockey game — potentially because the NHL 2020 season is basically cancelled.

However, the survey shows some significant differences in priority based on gender.

Canadian women were much more likely to say that they're looking forward to a hug than men (55 per cent to 33 per cent), and they were also twice as likely to say  they're excited to shop (14 per cent to 7 per cent).

Similarly, Canadian men are more excited to go to bars and restaurants than women (35 per cent to 27 per cent) and to go back to work (18 per cent to 14 per cent).

Angus Reid

Hugs can have a measurable impact on your mood and cortisol levels, according to scientific research. One study even found that more frequent hugs made people less susceptible to infection associated with stress.

Hopefully Canadians will be back to hugging family and friends (and potentially your postal carrier, depending on how starved for human contact you are) soon.