Quebec will expand its pilot project regarding store opening hours on weekends
Posted December 8, 2025 8:18 am.
Last Updated December 8, 2025 2:35 pm.
The Quebec government plans to expand its pilot project province-wide, which aims to allow retail businesses that wish to do so to stay open later on weekends.
As part of this expansion, the government will allow the businesses concerned, such as shops, boutiques and hardware stores, to open on weekends from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., except on public holidays.
Currently, commercial establishments that offer retail products must close shop at 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
For the past few weeks, a pilot project has allowed these businesses located in three cities — Gatineau, Laval and Saint-Georges — to open their doors until 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, on a voluntary basis, except for holidays.
On Monday, the Minister Delegate for the Economy and Small and Medium Enterprises, Samuel Poulin, announced that this pilot project will be extended to all municipalities in Quebec.
Poulin, who points out that Quebec is the only place in North America to put barriers on the opening hours of businesses, believes that we must “get out of the way of entrepreneurs”.
“With Shein and Temu, local businesses need the leeway to be more in touch with their customers. It’s another freedom and a strong step towards deregulation,” he argued in a statement.
The draft regulation providing for the expansion of the pilot project will be published on Wednesday and will be subject to consultations for 45 days, “in order to gather comments from all interested parties.”
Food shops and pharmacies, which already benefit from an exemption to opening hours restrictions, are not affected by the proposed changes.
Quebec is also conducting a parallel pilot project to allow erotic product stores to remain open until 11 p.m. every day. This pilot project is ongoing.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
