Manitoba has some of the strictest Sunday shopping laws in North America – but that's about to change.
"Ten years of lobbying and finally today a signal that they're going to expand Sunday shopping in Manitoba," said Chuck Davidson of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.
Sunday shopping hours will be extended before Christmas 2012, the provincial government announced Tuesday morning as part of its budget release.
Currently, stores can only be open from noon to 6 p.m. Only Quebec and New Brunswick have similar restrictions.
The province hasn't announced how by much they'll extend the shopping hours. Officials said, however, they will be consulting the public before making any final decisions on the exact hours.
"It's about convenience for consumers," said Davidson.
Deborah Green, the general manager of Polo Park shopping centre, said customers already show up early on Sundays but simply have to wait until the shops open. "If people are up at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m., they are ready to head out the door by 10 a.m. or 11 a.m."
But not everyone's happy about the change. Rachael Damaren works in retail and said the longer hours on Sunday will be hard on retail workers.
"I'd prefer to have Sundays off. Everyone should stay home. You have till 9 p.m. every night to shop," Damaren said.
Finance Minister Stan Struthers said the change was made to accommodate families and make Manitoba businesses more competitive.
"Families today have hectic schedules, and Manitoba stores face pressures from cross-border shopping and online competition," Struthers said.
Despite the planned changes, not all retailers will be adopting the longer hours. George Andrews, who owns GJ Andrews Food and Wine, said he's not interested in longer Sundays.
"We want people to have a quality of life and feel like there's a bit of balance between work and home life," Andrews said.
The province said it plans to have legislation for the extended Sunday shopping hours in place before the holiday shopping season.
