Shoppers browse the Simons department store at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto on Aug. 14, 2025.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
On Monday, people across Ontario will be able to do something that most have never been able to do before: buy food at a grocery store on Victoria Day.
The lifting of the outdated ban on retailers operating on the holiday is a welcome, albeit limited, move. Premier Doug Ford, and premiers in other provinces, should go farther and scrap bans on retail openings on other holidays.
The newly enacted legislation allows Ontario grocery stores, shopping malls and storefront businesses to decide if they want to open on Victoria Day and Family Day, in February. The government said the change will be convenient for shoppers, and will makes the rules consistent across the province.
A confusing patchwork of rules still applies to other holidays in Ontario. Some municipalities have been allowed to pass bylaws exempting stores from the ban, or let retailers in designated tourist areas open. Across the country, various rules are in place, with the western provinces and the territories generally allowing holiday shopping, and bans in place in central and eastern provinces.
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Rules banning retailers from opening on holidays don’t make much sense, given that other businesses, including convenience stores and restaurants, are free to decide if they should open. Ontario’s exemption for tourist areas is also hard to justify, as it gives visitors priority over locals, and applies to places like the Eaton Centre and Yorkville that are popular with residents.
Opposition politicians in Ontario were quick to criticize Mr. Ford for allowing store openings on the two holidays, with the Liberals saying it would prevent workers from spending time with relatives, undermining the intent of Family Day. The NDP said it was a symptom of the Premier’s misguided priorities, pointing to his annoyance at not being able to shop at Home Depot on Family Day.
The impact on employees does need to be taken into account. Employment laws in Ontario give many retail workers the right to refuse to work on holidays, but bosses should be mindful of the power imbalances involved when scheduling. At many workplaces, there will likely be volunteers, given they will earn time-and-and-half premium pay, in addition to receiving a paid day off.
Mr. Ford should give retailers the right to open on other holidays. There are more sensitivities around religious holidays, but of course, not all workers participate in Christian traditions. In provinces that allow holiday openings, stores often operate with reduced hours, or choose to close entirely on days such as Christmas.
While some retailers will be keen to open, many will be deterred by higher staffing costs that won’t necessarily be recouped if shoppers shift the same purchases to different days. Impacts on shopping malls also need to be considered, as all stores are generally required to open during mall hours.
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There are other restrictions on the books regarding retail openings that need to be cleaned up. In Quebec, most retailers have been forced to close at 5 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. While grocery stores and pharmacies are exempted, other retailers have long complained about the unnecessary restrictions.
The ban is intended to promote work/life balance for staff and protect small merchants from competition from big retailers that can afford to stay open longer. In the era of around-the-clock global competition from internet retailers, these restrictions make no sense.
In March, Quebec launched a one-year pilot project allowing stores to stay open on weekends until 9 p.m. The province should make the rule permanent.
Today’s retail opening bans are reminiscent of the Sunday shopping debates of the 1980s. At the time, store owners such as Sam Sniderman of the famed Sam the Record Man chain complained that his customers wanted to buy records on Sunday.
After Big M Drug Mart, a large general store in Calgary, opened on a Sunday, it was charged with violating the Lord’s Day Act. Eventually, the merchant was able to strike down the law in Supreme Court, arguing that the new Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteed freedom of religion, and the act enforced religious practices.
The debate seems anachronistic now. The remaining bans on retail shopping in Canada are archaic too, and need to be finally lifted.