Shop owners on four of the Plateau-Mont-Royal's key commercial arteries have won a 13-year battle to extend weekend operating hours past 5 p.m.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre made the announcement Wednesday after getting the green light from Jacques Daoust, Quebec's minister for the economy, innovation and exports.

Merchants on St-Laurent and St-Denis boulevards, as well as Mont-Royal and Duluth avenues, will now be permitted to stay open until 8 p.m. if they so choose.

Glenn Castanheira, the head of the St-Laurent Boulevard Merchant's Association, has been fighting for extended business hours on the Plateau since 2001.

“People have a very active life and don't necessarily have time to shop early on the weekends,” Castanheira said earlier this month.

Montreal's executive committee agreed last week to bring a motion supporting the exemption from a provincial law that requires stores to close at 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

The new rules take effect beginning Dec. 20.