In my opinion, businesses where the parking rates have changed and the times where they are used (adding Sunday, extending times for Monday to Wednesday, etc.) will suffer.
The main parking meter hours used to be when the stores used coincide with the stores opening hours. Stores used to open from 9am to 5pm on Monday to Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday it would be around 9am to 9pm. Saturday would be around 9:30am to 5pm and Sundays the stores would be closed. We used to only have to pay during those hours. Now, we have to pay Monday to Friday from about 9am to 9pm. On Saturday and Sunday I believe it is now 9am to 6pm.
I used to watch movies downtown, go to restaurants, go shopping downtown, etc. Since the parking rules have come into effect, I've gone downtown a lot less. Everything that I can do downtown, I can do in the suburbs where there are large malls with ample free parking.
I see a lot of businesses suffering because of this.
I know that Montrealers pay probably the least of all the major cities in North America for parking but we are probably also the highest taxed city in North America between being the highest taxed province, etc.
The mayor's party says that the higher parking rates increase customers by having them buy their things and leave sooner giving more parking to other people. I don't buy that logic. The higher parking rates just make me do my shopping and my restaurant/movie activities in the suburbs.
Adding to this is the inability of topping up your parking where the high-tech parking meters are in effect. If I have 30 minutes left in the parking meter, in order to get an hour, I have to pay an hour instead of 30 minutes. Paying anything less than 30 minutes worth will give me a parking stub with the lower amount of time (but my parking will still be valid for 30 minutes).