Alberta goes to permanent DST

Alberta plans to stop changing clocks and stay on daylight time year-round, with legislation introduced this week to keep the province on its current offset after summer. (cbc.ca) Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally said on April 20 that Albertans would no longer “spring forward” or “fall back,” and Premier Danielle Smith said on April 22 the province could revisit the move in 2027 if the reaction turns sour. (cbc.ca 1) (cbc.ca 2) The practical change is simple: winter sunrises would come later and winter sunsets would come later too, because Alberta would keep the same clock time it uses now in late April. Smith said she expects Albertans will prefer “more sunlight at night” over earlier morning light. (cbc.ca) (globalnews.ca) The issue returned to the agenda after British Columbia announced on March 2 that it would adopt permanent daylight saving time after its March 8 clock change, ending the fall switch there on Nov. 1. Nally said that would leave Alberta between British Columbia on one side and Saskatchewan’s year-round system on the other. (news.gov.bc.ca) (cbc.ca) (saskatchewan.ca) Alberta already tested the idea politically. In the October 18, 2021 provincial referendum, voters narrowly rejected permanent daylight time, with 50.2 per cent opposed and 49.8 per cent in favour. (globalnews.ca) Smith said her government did not send the question back to a vote this spring because the regional picture had changed. She said British Columbia’s move and Saskatchewan’s long-standing one-time system pushed Alberta to act now instead of reopening the issue first. (cbc.ca) The debate is not just about convenience. CBC reported that many health and biology experts prefer permanent standard time, arguing it lines up better with the body’s internal clock, while Smith said residents need to “live it” before deciding whether the tradeoff works. (cbc.ca) Some industries have backed ending the twice-a-year switch even if the choice of clock remains disputed. Aaron Stein of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture told CBC that farmers want more consistency because feeding schedules, worker fatigue and heavy-equipment safety all get harder when clocks change. (cbc.ca) If the bill passes, the clock Albertans set in March 2026 would become the one they keep, and the first real test would come on the dark winter mornings Smith says will tell the province whether it chose the right permanent time. (cbc.ca)