(Shopping centre image via Shutterstock)

A new Probe Research poll commissioned by the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and Retail Council of Canada suggests the majority of Manitobans feel retailers should be able to set their own Sunday shopping hours.

“The 9-5, Monday to Friday, economic experience that defined our world years ago has been replaced by a 24/7, online reality, driven by demographics, technology and globalization,” said Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.

Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia are the only provinces in Canada that restrict Sunday hours of operation. In August, the province said it was open to studying the idea of extended hours for retailers.

“Business success is tied to knowing and adapting to market conditions and customer needs; allowing retailers to decide for themselves how best to respond to what consumers are demanding is therefore essential to remain relevant.”

Survey highlights

• Slightly more than one-quarter oppose such a legal or regulatory change (28 percent, including 14 percent strongly oppose).
• At the province-wide level, support for allowing retailers to set their own hours was weaker among those aged 55 years and over (38% strongly support, versus 48% among those aged 18-34 years and 49% among those aged 35-54 years).
• Respondents with children in the home were more likely than average to be strong supporters of less restrictive shopping hours (52% strongly support).

This province-wide Omnibus survey was designed and conducted by Probe Research via telephone interviews taken between Sept. 13, 2016 and Sept. 26, 2016 among a random and representative sampling of 1,000 adults in Manitoba with 95 percent certainty that the results are accurate within ± 3.1 percentage points.