When B.C. springs forward on Sunday, we’ll be doing it for the last time.
That’s what Premier David Eby announced on Monday, as B.C. will become the first province in Canada to switch to daylight savings time year-round.
This will have an effect on hockey-watching habits for fans of the Vancouver Canucks, and not just for road games.
Between 60 and 70 per cent of the NHL’s regular season is typically played when most of the continent is observing standard time. Next season, that’ll be from Nov. 1, 2026, to Mar. 14, 2027, which is when fans in B.C. will see a change.
Instead of games starting at 4 or 4:30 p.m. when the Canucks play on the road against Eastern Conference teams, they’ll start at 5 or 5:30 p.m.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Canucks will now play games that start at 8 or 8:30 p.m. when they travel to Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles, or Anaheim.
Some games at Rogers Arena will be affected as well.
Fans in Alberta have become accustomed to home games being pushed back an hour for the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, to accommodate television networks when the game is the second half of a doubleheader. That’s coming for Vancouver as well.
When Hockey Night in Canada comes to town, the Canucks will be playing at 8 p.m. at Rogers Arena. And when the Toronto Maple Leafs are here? That’s now a 5 p.m. game in Vancouver.
Too bad B.C. didn’t make this move a little earlier, because the Olympic gold medal men’s hockey game would have started at 6 a.m. instead of 5.
NFL Sunday is going to be changing for us as well, as early games will begin at 11 a.m. instead of 10 a.m., in November and December. The Super Bowl will begin at 4:30 p.m. going forward, instead of 3:30.
Is this a change you’re happy about? Let us know in the comments below.