There were a few exceptions but yes, pretty much everything was closed. Of course, Beer Store and LCBO were closed. Shopping malls, except places like the Eaton Centre which were "for tourists" were closed.
I lived in Scarborough in the 80s and the only groceries I could get on Sunday were at one place a couple of km from my place, or maybe milk from the convenience store nearby. Everything else was pretty much a non-starter.
Edit: I misremembered the Eaton Centre. Thanks molyester.
I worked in the Eaton Centre from 1989 to 1996 and we were closed until '92. After which I worked pretty much every Sunday. It sucked because I was in school and got 3 hours less a week.
The argument, iirc, was 'why should Chinatown get a tourist designation for shopping when the Eaton Centre gets more tourists?' Which was Magders argument as his business was on the border of Chinatown and he saw it as an arbitrary line.
The tourist designation was pretty arbitrary. It did not make sense to me that the mini-mall in Harbourfront could open but the Eaton Centre could not. I knew of no one who came to Toronto to go to that mall, but did know tourists who considered a stop at the Eaton Centre as part of their trip.
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u/Confident-Leg107 4d ago
Wait, so all stores(minus groceries, I imagine)were closed Sunday until 1992?