Retail · Seasonal · Holidays
Retail and seasonal staffing in Montréal, planned around the holiday calendar
Retail's busiest weeks are short and known in advance. Aukazi supplies vetted, shift-based workers to Montréal-area retailers for the physical work behind the sales floor: receiving, picking and packing online orders, sorting returns and general labour. Below is Québec's holiday calendar of store hours for 2026–27, so you can book around the days stores must close.
- 98% of shifts filled within 24h
- Scale back after the holidays, no long-term contract
- Supervisors see who has arrived, live in the app
Why retail staffing is a calendar problem
In retail the peak isn't a surprise: the dates are on the calendar, and in Québec so are the days stores can't open. The hard part is having enough trained hands between those closures, then letting them go when January arrives. Aukazi records site familiarity from prior shifts and uses it for matching, so people who have already worked in your stockroom are better placed to be matched when the rush starts.
Roles behind the sales floor
Receiving and unloading
Unloading trucks and containers when seasonal stock arrives at the store or your warehouse.
Online-order picking
Picking orders for shipping from the store or for in-store pickup.
Packaging
Packing online orders so they leave on time during the rush.
Returns sorting
Triage of returned and exchanged items once the holidays are over.
Assembly
Putting together displays, fixtures and assembled products.
General labour
Moving stock between the dock, the stockroom and your distribution centre.
Québec holiday calendar for retail, 2026–27
Québec law sets when stores may admit the public, including on holidays. Here is what it means from Christmas Eve to 2 January, and what to book around each day. Rows marked as a statutory holiday have extra pay rules for anyone who works that day.
| Date | Stores (open to the public) | Statutory holiday | What to book |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 24 December 2026 | Stores (open to the public): Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed after 5 p.m. | Statutory holiday: No | What to book: The last trading day before Christmas ends early. Have receiving and online-order packing finish before your 5 p.m. close, and post your 26 December shifts by now. |
| Friday 25 December 2026 | Stores (open to the public): Closed | Statutory holiday: Yes | What to book: Stores are closed to the public. Anyone who works this day gets regular pay plus a holiday indemnity or a paid day off, so ask your agency how holiday hours are billed before booking. |
| Saturday 26 December 2026 | Stores (open to the public): Closed before 1 p.m.; open 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. | Statutory holiday: No | What to book: Boxing Day opens at 1 p.m. this year. Start floor-support shifts to match, and plan returns sorting for the week that follows. |
| Thursday 31 December 2026 | Stores (open to the public): Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed after 5 p.m. | Statutory holiday: No | What to book: Another short day. Schedule loading and packing so they wrap up before the 5 p.m. close. |
| Friday 1 January 2027 | Stores (open to the public): Closed | Statutory holiday: Yes | What to book: Closed to the public and a statutory holiday, with the same pay rule as 25 December. |
| Saturday 2 January 2027 | Stores (open to the public): Normal hours | Statutory holiday: No | What to book: Normal hours return. Scale back down, or keep the workers your supervisors rated well for returns and receiving. |
Store hours: Québec.ca. Statutory holidays: Éducaloi. Food stores, SAQ branches and pharmacies follow different rules on these days. Checked October 2026; general information, not legal advice.
Outside the holidays: normal hours and the 2026 pilot
Québec stores may normally admit the public from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Since 11 March 2026, a 12-month pilot project lets non-food stores without an exemption choose to open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, holidays excluded. If you open earlier under the pilot, start your receiving and floor-ready shifts earlier too, and post the start times that match.
Shifts filled within 24h
Shifts filled every month
Locations served
Worker retention rate
The numbers behind every shift we run.
It is a pleasure to collaborate with the Aukazi team. The platform is easy to use and very well designed. It is really a good solution to use in times of labor shortage. As a human resources consultant, I recommend you try Aukazi!
When a retail agency is the better call
Need cashiers, sales associates, customer service staff or a store manager? A retail recruitment agency is the better choice for those roles. Aukazi focuses on work that requires physical movement, so for a retailer that means the dock, the stockroom and online-order fulfilment, not the till.
Seasonal help still needs a permit check
Bringing in holiday workers through an agency in Québec? You must make sure that agency holds a CNESST permit and is listed in the public registry. Check it before the first shift, for Aukazi as for anyone else.
Questions employers ask
Does Aukazi staff retailers in Montréal?
Yes. Retail and seasonal operations is one of the five industries Aukazi serves, for work behind the sales floor: receiving, order picking, packaging, returns sorting, assembly and general labour. Aukazi is headquartered in Montréal and serves 100+ locations across Canada.
Are stores open on Boxing Day in Québec?
Only in the afternoon. On 26 December, stores are closed before 1 p.m. and may open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. They are closed on 25 December and 1 January. Food stores, SAQ branches and pharmacies have different rules (Québec.ca, checked October 2026).
Is 26 December a statutory holiday in Québec?
No. Under Québec labour standards, 25 December and 1 January are statutory holidays; 26 December is not on the list (Éducaloi, checked October 2026).
How quickly can you add workers for the holidays?
Aukazi fills 98% of shifts within 24 hours. That is a fill rate, not a promise for every late request, so post holiday shifts as soon as you know your volumes. No long-term contract is required, and you can scale back in January.
Sources
- Québec.ca: store opening hours on holidays, updated 6 February 2026 (French)
- Québec.ca: normal store opening hours and the 2026 pilot project, updated 12 May 2026 (French)
- Éducaloi: statutory holidays under Québec labour standards (French)
- CNESST: registry of agency permit holders (French)
Legal facts checked October 2026. General information, not legal advice.
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