Slow business. Saturday, on the occasion of Christmas Eve, shopping centers, grocery stores, branches of the Société des alcools du Québec and certain branches of the Société québécoise du cannabis will close at 5 p.m. Sunday, for Christmas Day, these same businesses will however be closed.
Gas stations, pharmacies and convenience stores will remain open on Sunday, although some are reducing their opening hours. Many restaurants, especially branches of fast-food chains, will also remain open. Monday, December 26, for the Boxing Day sales, most businesses will reopen according to their usual hours.
Utilities shut down. Several public services will be on hold over the weekend. Canada Post will close its offices on December 25 and 26, in addition to stopping delivering mail. Accès Montréal offices and permit counters have been closed since December 23 and until January 3 inclusively, except in the borough of Ville-Marie, where they will be closed until January 6. All Québec City offices are also closed from December 23 to January 3.
Hospital emergency rooms will obviously remain open every day. However, most clinics and local community service centers (CLSCs) will be closed on Sunday and will have reduced opening hours on Saturday and Monday. However, some CLSC services will remain accessible by appointment only on Sunday.
The various waste collections will be maintained, in Montreal and Quebec, according to the usual hours. In Montreal, ecocentres are closed from December 24 to January 3 inclusively. In Quebec, they are closed from December 24 to 26, then will be from December 31 to January 2.
Public transport. Transit companies in the province consider December 24, 25 and 26 to be statutory holidays. The frequency of service will therefore decrease, but in a variable manner depending on the time and the regions. In Montreal as in Quebec, most of the regular Sunday schedules will be maintained for Christmas Day. In Laval, trips made with the Société de transport de Laval will be free on December 24.
Culture and entertainment. The schedule of Quebec museums could be modified in the coming days, although most of them will remain open on Saturday. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art will be closed Sunday and Monday. In Quebec, the Musée de la civilization will be closed on Sunday, but exceptionally open on Monday 26.
Several outdoor activities should also be maintained in the coming days, unless the storm that has been raging since Thursday evening forces their cancellation. In Montreal, the Noël dans le parc festival continues at Place Émilie-Gamelin, except Sunday. The Place des Festivals Christmas market will also remain open, except on Sunday.
Municipal libraries as well as the Grande Bibliothèque are closed from December 24 to 26, in Montreal and Quebec City, except for certain libraries in Quebec City which will open from December 26.