Twice a year, Canadians perform a familiar little dance with their clocks. We spring forward, fall back and spend the next few days wondering why we’re tired, hungry or somehow late for everything.
This November, the bi-annual ritual is getting a major shake-up. British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba are joining regions that have ditched seasonal clock changes, meaning millions of Canadians will leave their clocks untouched when Nov. 1 rolls around. Most of Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, however, will still turn back the clocks by one hour.
The result is a country increasingly out of sync, with different rules depending on where you live. And while more governments are ready to call time on the twice-yearly switch, Canadians remain divided over which time should stay.
Who is ditching the clock change?
B.C. made its move first this year, with March 8 marking its final spring-forward. The province will stay on permanent daylight saving time, keeping evenings lighter during the winter months.
Alberta and Manitoba are also moving to permanent daylight saving time beginning Nov. 1. Residents will no longer have to turn their clocks back in the fall or forward again in the spring.
Yukon has followed a fixed time year-round since 2020, while most of Saskatchewan stays on Central Standard Time throughout the year. Some communities near Saskatchewan’s borders follow different arrangements.
Canadian time zone graphic courtesy: The Weather Network
Ontario, meanwhile, is not making the same provincewide switch this November. Most Ontarians will still turn their clocks back, as well as Canadians living in Quebec and Atlantic provinces.
The patchwork can make planning a meeting, catching a flight, watching an NHL match or calling family across provincial borders a little more complicated.
Why do we change the clocks anyways?
Daylight saving time was conceived by the idea that by moving clocks forward in the spring, people can enjoy more daylight in the evening, when they are more likely to be finished work or school.
Moving clocks back in the fall shifts that hour of daylight back toward the morning. The catch is that the clocks do not create more sunshine — it just shifts how daylight lines up with the hours on the clock.
Canada formally adopted daylight saving time during the First World War, when extending evening daylight was seen as a way to support industrial work and conserve resources, according to a report published by University Canada West. The practice returned during the Second World War, and after the war, provinces and territories were left to set their own rules.
What does the time change mean for health?
Losing or gaining an hour might sound harmless, but the body’s internal clock does not always adjust as quickly as the clock on the kitchen wall.
Sleep researchers have raised concerns about the disruption caused by switching between standard and daylight saving time. The change can interfere with sleep routines, while some experts favour permanent standard time because it better aligns with the body’s natural circadian rhythm.
Custodian Ray Keen inspects a clock face before changing the time on the 100-year-old clock atop the Clay County Courthouse Saturday, March 8, 2014, in Clay Center, Kan. Canadians will set their clocks 60 minutes forward before heading to bed Saturday night, but daylight saving time officially starts Sunday at 2 a.m. local time.(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
That does not mean everyone will feel the effects in the same way. But for parents trying to get young children to sleep, shift workers juggling schedules or anyone who already struggles with rest, one less clock change could be welcome.
Even hockey fans could notice the difference
Hockey fans in Western Canada may want to set a second alarm this season, because some NHL games will be starting later than usual, thanks to the provinces’ decision to stop changing the clocks.
With B.C., Alberta and Manitoba staying on daylight saving time, the shift has created some unusual start times for games played by the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets.
For Calgary fans, that means eight games will start at 9 p.m. local time, including two home games on Dec. 26 and Jan. 16, according to the team’s official schedule. Edmonton has seven games scheduled for 9 p.m. starts, too. That’s a late night for fans who have work or school the next morning, even if the action goes into overtime.
The changes have even caught the league’s attention. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman joked with reporters in June that nobody had asked the league what it thought about the time-zone changes, adding that it would deal with them.
Most Canadians want the clock changes to end
A March survey from the Angus Reid Institute suggests many Canadians are ready to stop fiddling with their clocks. The online survey of 3,025 Canadian adults found that 86 per cent favoured ending the twice-yearly changes, although respondents were divided over what should replace them.
Just over half, or 53 per cent, preferred staying on daylight saving time year-round, which would mean later sunsets. Another 33 per cent favoured permanent standard time, with its earlier sunrises. The remaining 14 per cent wanted to keep switching back and forth.
For now, the answer depends on where you live. On Nov. 1, some Canadians will enjoy an extra hour on the clock, while others will wake up to the familiar business of resetting it.