Albertans will get their say on ending clock change

Albertans will once again be asked if they want to continue to change their clocks in the spring and fall as part of a series of referendum questions on municipal ballots this fall.

Alberta Services Minister Nate Glubish announced one question will ask Albertans what they want to do in terms of managing daylight time. He said more than 141,000 Albertans have already had a chance to have their say on the issue in an online survey but this fall they will be able to make their wishes official. An overwhelming number of Albertans indicated in that survey that they want to end the practice of switching their clocks twice a year, the minister said.

“We've received more than 141,000 responses in over a threeweek period and, since that time, my office has continued to receive a significant amount of questions and correspondence on this very issue,” said Glubish when announcing the referendum question last week. “Albertans are passionate about this and a change on this matter should not be taken lightly. How Albertans calculate time affects literally everyone in this province, as well as others beyond our borders.”

Daylight time was originally enacted in Alberta after the public voted in favour of adopting the practice in a 1971 plebiscite.

That plebiscite was held several years after a similar vote on the same subject in 1967.

Tricia Velthuzian, Glubish's press secretary, said the fact daylight time came into effect through a public vote was a big reason the province opted for a referendum before any change is made.

“Alberta adopted DST after a referendum, which allowed every eligible voter to have a voice, and so as the minister has said, we owe it to Albertans to give them the same opportunity to make their voices heard,” Velthuzian said in an email Friday.

The debate on the issue was reignited several years ago. In 2017, MLA Thomas Dang of the then-ruling NDP introduced a private member's bill looking to permanently keep clocks on Alberta Standard Time. An Ndp-led survey at the time found 75 per cent of Albertans supported the change, however major businesses, such as airlines and local NHL hockey teams, raised concerns about the switch. Ultimately, an all-party committee unanimously opposed the idea and kept the status quo.

Dang, now a member of the Opposition, said earlier this week that he is happy to see the government reintroduce the question this fall.

“If you suddenly have to wake up an hour early, or even an hour later, it can really throw you off,” said Dang. He said a big concern when he raised the issue was the difference in time between neighbouring jurisdictions.

However, that has changed in the past four years with B.C. voting to stop changing clocks, along with Yukon and Ontario. Several jurisdictions in the U.S. have also voted to stop seasonal time changes.

“I think a lot of those concerns are now alleviated because we've seen B.C. bring in legislation, that hasn't been enacted yet, but legislation to get rid of their time change. We've seen the Yukon bring in legislation and, of course, Saskatchewan doesn't change their clocks,” said Dang. “So Western Canada is really coming around to the idea that we don't need to change our clocks.”

Despite support for the proposal on both sides of the aisle, there are concerns about switching. Several experts in the field of biology and psychology have raised concerns about a permanent move to daylight time, arguing such a switch could have negative health effects on the general population, with some suggesting a move to standard time is preferable.