Black Friday shoppers not deterred by weather

Shoppers lined up well ahead of the opening of several stores in Calgary's Chinook Centre on November 28, 2014.

There are big lineups of people at all of Calgary’s malls all itching to get in on Black Friday deals and they’ve braving some frigid temperatures to do it.

Black Friday, a post-Thanksgiving shopping phenomenon that originated south of the border, has been gaining popularity steadily in Canada for the past few years.

A number of local malls, including Chinook Centre, Market Mall, and CrossIron Mills are opening early this morning for shoppers to get a crack at the Christmas lists for loved ones and get a few treats for themselves as well.

Many shoppers are saying that the big discounts make the early wake-up call worth it.

Joy Truong, who is at CrossIron Mills looking for few gifts for herself and some for others, says the deals look good.

“I got here a short time ago. I want to see what they surprise me with and the giveaways. The deals look pretty good, better than in previous years.”

Truong says that things have been looking pretty slow at the mall so she hopes to get in on some of the better deals.

A lot of shoppers outside Target at Market Mall have been camping out since midnight to get their hands on big ticket items like big screen TVs and iPads.

Stephanie McCabe, who bundled up against the cold and took her spot outside the store says she hopes to get a tablet for $70.

“It’s for my dad, it’s his Christmas present.”

Stores are expected to stay open until 9 p.m.