Every Saturday and Sunday at 5 p.m., Charlie Whitley closes his vintage clothing store in Montreal's Mile-End neighbourhood and feels frustrated.
He wants to stay open later, but that would be against the law. "It doesn't make any sense," he said about the "ridiculous" rules.
"It pains me every weekend to close the door at that time."
But the law is about to change — at least temporarily — with a one-year pilot project starting March 11 that would allow stores to stay open on weekends as late as the law permits on weekdays: 9 p.m.
And while some retail owners welcome the change, others say the rise in online shopping makes extended operating hours irrelevant. Meanwhile, there are fears that the new rules will aggravate labour shortages.
Quebec is the only Canadian province that still broadly regulates retail opening hours year-round, Samuel Poulin, the province's minister for small- and medium-size businesses, said in an email. Most retail shops, aside from pharmacies and grocery stores, must close by 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sundays.
The strict rules were imposed to protect employees' work-life balance and help smaller shops compete with larger chains, which can often afford the overhead costs of longer operating hours, the government says.
But with the growing popularity of online shopping, brick-and-mortar stores are facing tight rules on operating hours when their competitors — giant platforms like Shein and Temu — have no similar restrictions.
And while Whitley is happy he will soon be able to open his clothing store until 9 p.m. on weekends, other Montreal retail owners, like Suzanne Foucault, don't share his enthusiasm.
Owner of Uchuu, a clothing store on Laurier Avenue West, Foucault said that spreading the same number of customers over longer operating hours would increase staffing costs without necessarily generating additional revenue.
"We would only dilute sales, not increase them," she said.
Online shopping already allows customers to buy outside of store hours. "People are working from home; they won’t come out to shop," Foucault said.
Myriam Élie, owner of jewelry store Myel, also on Laurier Avenue West, echoed that opinion. "We're not planning on extending our hours," she said, noting that 20 to 30 per cent of her store’s sales are online.
Jennifer Glasgow of Jennifer Glasgow Boutique on St-Laurent Boulevard said she may adjust hours, but only seasonally, "when the days get longer, and the temperature rises." Cold weather, she said, doesn't encourage late-day shopping.
The recent pilot project stems from trials conducted last year in three Quebec cities — Gatineau, Laval, and St-Georges — where businesses could stay open until 8 p.m. voluntarily
There are exceptions to Quebec's strict rules — two special zones in downtown are permitted to set their own operating hours. As well, two other zones in the central part of the city are allowed stay open until 8 p.m. on weekends.
Shopping centres across Montreal are approaching the pilot project in their own ways.
Andrew Lutfy, the head of Royalmount, a newly opened high-end shopping and entertainment complex in midtown Montreal, said he supports the added flexibility. "The government should not get involved in our operations," he said.
Beginning March 11, Royalmount will operate from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday to Tuesday, and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday. "Brands and customers are asking us to stay open longer, especially on weekends," Lutfy said. "Tenants have no choice; they will have to follow suit."
Other shopping areas are more cautious. The marketing team for Place Ville Marie — the tower complex at the corner of McGill College Avenue and Cathcart Street in downtown Montreal — has no plans to extend opening hours under the pilot.
Roger Gagné, economist and director of the Centre for Studies on Productivity and Prosperity in Montreal, said a business will adapt "according to the needs of its customers."
"We will likely not have uniform opening hours across the retail sector."
Lutfy agreed. “It’s not an all-sizes-fit-all solution,” he said, adding that smaller boutiques may not see the benefit.
Gagné does not expect longer hours to significantly change consumer behaviour. "People won't start consuming more because opening hours are different," he said. "It will just increase their comfort."
Renaud Brossard, vice-president of communications at the Montreal Economic Institute, says the pilot does not go far enough.
"Most provinces actually don't have any regulated business hours outside of specific holidays," he said, noting that in Ontario, businesses can theoretically operate 24/7 but rarely do. The flexibility, he said, allows retailers to adjust as needed.
Julia Posca, a researcher at the institute for socioeconomic research and information — IRIS — said extended hours may add pressure on labour shortages.
"It's going to complicate the issues, that's for sure," she said. She noted there were 11,300 vacant retail jobs in Quebec as of mid-December 2025 — a number lower than during the COVID-19 pandemic but still significant, she said.
For her part, Foucault said hiring has been a challenge. "We've already had difficulty finding people to work."
Lutfy, however, believes extended hours could create opportunities for part-time workers.
"If we take a look around our shops today at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, we can see that it is mainly young part-time workers who are working these hours," he said. "Ultimately, it will create job openings that will be filled by young people."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2026.
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