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News & Current Events Apr 20, 2026 at 6:50 PM

Alberta expected to make switch to daylight saving time permanent

Posted by joe4942

Alberta expected to make switch to daylight saving time permanent | Globalnews.ca
Global News
Alberta expected to make switch to daylight saving time permanent | Globalnews.ca
The government of Alberta is expected to table legislation this week that would make the switch to Daylight Saving Time permanent for the province.
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MaximaFuryRigor Apr 20, 2026 +235
Well they're now sandwiched between two provinces that aren't time switching, so it was pretty inevitable. Peer pressure!!
235
Carbonistheft Apr 20, 2026 +38
Alberta. We always try everything else before doing the one f****** thing that makes sense. It's provincial tradition.
38
Haunting_Explorer376 Apr 20, 2026 +3
One of us! One of us!
3
DrPCorn Apr 20, 2026 +105
As someone within the 6 or so BC towns that are getting left on Alberta time while all of BC ditches time changes, great f****** news.
105
OddDot724 Apr 20, 2026 +30
As someone who routinely worked in Lloydminster, figuring out when your start time is, was a complete nightmare
30
[deleted] Apr 20, 2026 +3
[deleted]
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DrPCorn Apr 20, 2026 +3
I’m in Golden. That hasn’t changed for us yet. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/east-kootenay-changing-clocks-pacific-time-9.7130783
3
wrendamine Apr 20, 2026 +3
I don't see a world where Alberta passes this legislation and BC gov't doesn't declare that the eastern BC MST region will be in line with Alberta time (permanent DST). Just be patient. It will happen before November and you won't have to fall back at all. 
3
d00dsm00t Apr 20, 2026 -2
I would f****** riot. Stealing an hour a day of an already short enough summer.
-2
Technical_Air9114 Apr 20, 2026 +5
The day is the same length. 
5
VanceKelley Apr 20, 2026 +3
Correct. Daylight Saving Time does not change the number of hours of daylight that occur each day. The difference between standard time and DST is what time is shown on the clock when the sun is at its highest point of the day. Standard = clock shows ~12pm when sun at highest point DST = clock shows ~1pm when sun at highest point When a human is asleep it doesn't matter much whether the sun is shining or not. So to most people who are asleep at 6am it doesn't matter whether the sun is shining then or not, but to those people who are awake at 6pm it does make a difference. Thus for most people daylight into the evening hours (6pm and later) is valuable, while daylight in the early morning hours is not valuable. So having daylight from 6am-6pm is less desirable than having daylight from 7am to 7pm.
3
d00dsm00t Apr 20, 2026 +3
They can get me on board if they start society an hour earlier then as well.
3
Goku420overlord Apr 21, 2026 +1
So in your example we get the 7 am to 7pm or an hour later? What a win
1
VanceKelley Apr 21, 2026 +1
Yep, on the spring or fall equinox with DST the sun is up from 7am to 7pm instead of from 6am to 6pm with standard time. So DST means the sun rises and sets an hour later than it would on standard time. Some people like the extra hour in the evening, some do not. So whether it is a win depends on someone's life circumstances.
1
thewestcoastexpress Apr 23, 2026 +1
Wait, I thought the whole province switched. Some towns stayed?
1
DrPCorn Apr 24, 2026 +2
The East Kootenays, where we are on mountain time stayed, and then the communities around the East Kootenays chose to switch. Only Golden and surrounding communities chose to stay with Alberta.
2
jaydogggg Apr 20, 2026 +51
Incredibly jealous. I have said for years in Ontario we should stop adjusting
51
wildgurularry Apr 20, 2026 +11
At least we have a law where we will automatically stop ajusting if both Quebec and New York do. To bad we are just sitting back an waiting instead of leading.
11
KhausTO Apr 20, 2026 +10
I'm guessing, this will end up Cascading across Canada now that the western half of the country has already stopped. Doug needs some attention deflected away from the Jet, much like Danielle Smith needed to deflect attention away from her Gerrymandering plan.
10
Ian_I_An Apr 20, 2026 +4
At once it gets to St John, Victoria can introduce Daylight Savings 2, and have that cascade across Canada.
4
f0000 Apr 20, 2026 +22
Because of the stock market we’re tied to New York State’s changing or not changing. We already have it on the books to stop if Quebec and New York does, Quebec has it on the books to follow New York’s lead too. So blame/try to pressure New York State.
22
Comfortable_Jury369 Apr 21, 2026 +7
Please do, we would love to switch!
7
Frozen5147 Apr 20, 2026 +5
As others have said we technically would, but we don't want to until NY and Quebec both agree to do it as well, which isn't too unreasonable I guess. > In November 2020, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario passed Bill 214, the Time Amendment Act, 2020, which will establish year-round observation of daylight saving time. However, the act does not come into force immediately but takes effect on a day to be named by proclamation of the Ontario lieutenant governor under the advisory of the province's attorney general.[43] That is intended to avoid moving to a different time zone from the one that is used in Quebec or New York.[44] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time_in_Canada (Also fun fact Ontario was the first place in the world where DST was enacted)
5
brazilliandanny Apr 20, 2026 +3
Blame New York, we're waiting on them to make up their damn minds.
3
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026 +6
Who would be against permanent summer time?
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Newtiresaretheworst Apr 20, 2026 +4
People that work outside.
4
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026 +4
You wouldn’t want more sun in the afternoon if you work outside? You’d rather come home in the dark? 
4
Newtiresaretheworst Apr 20, 2026 +3
Work doesn’t start until the suns up. Then your 8-10 shift starts. Now I get home later and have less family time.
3
coffee_achiever Apr 20, 2026 +3
you're right. we should pass a law that it needs to be warm in winter as well. Equally as effective.
3
PhantomNomad Apr 20, 2026 +2
I'd vote for that law. So tired of -30c out here on the prairie. I'm not a climate change denier. I'm just a climate change hoper. I know climate change is not good. And I know things have really changed since I was a kid. But there is still a small part of me that would like to live in the tropics, but not have to move to them.
2
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026 +1
Except permanent summer time is real and gives us an extra hour of sun in the afternoon with our family.
1
WhaddaHutz Apr 21, 2026 +1
People love that part of DST, but the science and stats are overwhelmingly against it. Our bodies have evolved to wake up gradually as the sun rises, and wind down and fall asleep as the sun sets (i.e. our circadian rhythm). However, under DST, we are more likely to wake up suddenly (from an alarm) in darkness, and the extended sunlight hours delays when we fall asleep. This negatively impacts our sleep throughout DST (not just the initial clock change), and that adversely impacts our physical health, mental health, productivity, and attentiveness to things like driving. Pretty much every study has shown that any benefits of DST is outweighed by the negative impacts. Prolonged sunlight hours also has downstream effects on energy consumption, as people put their A/C's to work during hotter hours of day. Permanent DST becomes especially bad in the winter months, when some parts may not see sunlight until as late as 8am or even 9am. That's bad for sleep, but it's also bad for pedestrians... kids in particular,; in fact that's why the US's experiment with permanent DST in the 1970s came to an end - a series of accidents involving kids resulted in public pressure against permanent DST. Then again, North America is largely desensitized to motor vehicle deaths and the US is desensitized against deaths of school children, so maybe it'd work today. Permanent standard time is what is better for us.
1
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 21, 2026 +2
Show me the science, but make sure it’s at this latitude! Because taking an hour of sunlight from me and my family and giving it to me for my first hour of work is torture. Horrible for mental health. Almost no humans goes to sleep at 6pm so the circadian rhythm argument is false.
2
WhaddaHutz Apr 21, 2026 +2
> Show me the science, but make sure it’s at this latitude! "Let me google that for you". There is a wealth of information out there if you look, including by actual academics as opposed to random listnookors, who have done their studies in various regions - including the US and Russia which have actually tested permanent DST and switched back. > Almost no humans goes to sleep at 6pm so the circadian rhythm argument is false. It's not about going to sleep at 6pm. As sun exposure ends (because the sun is setting/has set), your body will start winding down and eventually go to sleep - where you will fall asleep and reach a deeper, higher quality of sleep much more quickly. We don't have on/off buttons.
2
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 21, 2026 +2
Correct, and Russia is also mostly at very high altitudes. Let’s seem American studies that are not in Alaska that say what you’re saying. Who goes to bed *just after 6*. Let’s give you the benefit of the doubt and say you get sleepy a hour later, well it’s still worth an extra hour of sun with my family after work and school. That is precious. Taking it away each year is torture. I can’t wait for us all to switch to permanent summer time. 3 provinces down, let’s keep it going?
2
WhaddaHutz Apr 22, 2026
The science is the science. Go look for it. I'm not going to argue with anecdotes and vibes. By the way, the science has concluded that the mental health benefits of DST is wiped out by the adverse sleep consequences of DST.
0
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 22, 2026 +2
I looked it up and couldn’t find any that were at our latitude and that makes all the difference 
2
sth128 Apr 20, 2026 +4
November is still over ten months away there's a chance we might join the club this year.
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PprMan Apr 20, 2026 +11
It’s April already btw. Less than 7 months
11
cubenz Apr 20, 2026 +7
They were adjusting for daylight saving
7
PleasantWay7 Apr 20, 2026 +3
What month are you living in?
3
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026 +1
I'm in the US. I don't want us to stop changing at the moment because you know this administration would make it permanent winter time.
1
KhausTO Apr 20, 2026 +9
oh, here I thought you guys were trying to turn back the clocks to 1939.
9
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026 +3
They've already done that, that was week one.
3
yawaramin Apr 21, 2026 +7
Permanent winter time, or rather Standard Time, is actually a better choice. It's better for our health and safety because it's closer to the actual schedule of the sun and aligns with our biological clocks. It's also safer because we get more daylight especially in winter mornings and avoid accidents like sleepy drivers hitting pedestrians in the dark.
7
Knight_Machiavelli Apr 21, 2026 +2
When you're as North as Canada there is no such thing as a choice that's closer to the actual schedule of the sun. When you get 7 hours of sunlight a day there's no schedule that is going to conform to our biological clocks, so might as well take the sunlight after work instead of while we're at work.
2
Dullcorgis Apr 21, 2026 +2
It's not, though. We all hate the sunrise and sunset times in winter with a passion and everyone's life materially improves as soon as daylight savings starts.
2
yawaramin Apr 21, 2026 +3
Except for the, you know, losing an hour of sleep, blood pressure spike, tiredness, and sudden spike in car collisions during that week. But even leaving that aside, the 'improvement' from DST is mostly attributable to the longer days, which would naturally happen even without DST, just slightly slower. And on the flip side, the transition to shorter winter days would also be slower, giving us more time to adjust to it.
3
Dullcorgis Apr 21, 2026 +2
If we were on permanent daylight savings time there would be no change. Keep up.
2
yawaramin Apr 21, 2026 +3
If we were on permanent standard time there would be no change either. Keep up with yourself.
3
Dullcorgis Apr 21, 2026 +3
...and we would all be miserable for ten months of the year.
3
WhaddaHutz Apr 21, 2026 +2
Studies have shown that DST's disruption to our circadian rhythm occurs throughout our observation of DST. The initial change is bad, but, even after our body adjusts to the change, DST does not align with our circadian rhythm which leads to worse sleep quality, which then drags on our physical heath, mental health, productivity, and attentiveness.
2
Dullcorgis Apr 21, 2026 +2
I guess you live quite near an equator where you're getting a ton of daylight at reasonable hours. For people further towards the poles who work inside in winter you aren't getting any daylight at all. If daylight savings were permanent you'd get daylight at the end of the day.
2
WhaddaHutz Apr 21, 2026 +3
No, and if you look into it you'll see studies that have been conducted all over... including in regions closer to the poles. It's science.
3
Rinzack Apr 21, 2026 +1
> would make it permanent winter time. And this is why the debate has raged for so long- Remember 3 years ago when the Senate passed an act unanimously to end the switching, only for it to die in the house? Problem was that as soon as it passed half the country was upset with which time was being switched to. Getting rid of day light savings time is incredibly popular. Deciding on whether to keep Standard time or DST is basically a 50/50 split, hence the hold up.
1
Dullcorgis Apr 21, 2026 +1
No, getting rid of daylight savings time is NOT incredibly popular. At all.
1
Rinzack Apr 21, 2026 +2
https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/54237-the-times-they-are-a-changin-but-most-americans-would-rather-they-not Two thirds of Americans want to get rid of the practice
2
Dullcorgis Apr 21, 2026
Oops, you linked an article that says they support my view. >If the U.S. were to stop changing its clocks, more Americans would prefer to permanently spring forward and stay in Daylight Saving Time all year than to fall back to year-round Standard Time
0
Rinzack Apr 21, 2026 +1
"Getting rid of day light savings time is incredibly popular. Deciding on whether to keep Standard time or DST is basically a 50/50 split, hence the hold up" I misspoke in saying daylight savings specifically and was talking about getting rid of the switch we do every year, which is what was linked in the article and what i said in the second half of the last sentence.
1
Dullcorgis Apr 22, 2026 +1
Except people want to stop switching to standard time. The exact opposite of what you want.
1
FIContractor Apr 20, 2026 +32
This means British Columbia over to Saskatchewan (maybe 40% of the width of the country?) don’t have to change their clocks. Hopefully Manitoba is next and the dominoes just keep falling so no one from coast to coast has to follow that anachronistic tradition.
32
Krigen89 Apr 20, 2026 +17
100% Québec will stand alone once again and continue to change time because we know better.
17
cubenz Apr 20, 2026 +9
Until Paris fixes.
9
5AlarmFirefly Apr 21, 2026 +2
I'm gonna be so f****** mad if we stop changing but stick to standard time. It's exactly the kind of thing we would do.
2
WashuOtaku Apr 21, 2026 +5
Do not forget the Yukon, they also went along with BC.
5
FIContractor Apr 21, 2026 +3
Cool, I hadn’t seen that. I would think the NWT would too now that everybody below them has.
3
WashuOtaku Apr 21, 2026 +4
Dreams come true. [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-ends-daylight-saving-9.7170964](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nwt-ends-daylight-saving-9.7170964)
4
FIContractor Apr 21, 2026 +3
Well, that was quick.
3
Infamous-Mixture-605 Apr 21, 2026 +7
It will be a little different not having to change the clocks, but I am also curious to see if this will turn out like the US in the 1970s or Russia in the 2010s when they switched to DST permanently and folks wound up hating it so much during winter that they went back to the biannual switch.
7
RM_r_us Apr 21, 2026 +2
Their neighbour Saskatchewan doesn't switch. They'll be just fine. In the provincial capital (Edmonton) the sun isn't up until about 8:30am during the dead of winter.
2
Infamous-Mixture-605 Apr 21, 2026 +1
I live in Edmonton. I actually don't mind the 8:30 sunrise/4:30 sunset in winter. The days are short but that's what we get for living up here. Still, I wonder if folks will notice the change or not. People hated DST in winter in the US in the 1970s and that was at much lower latitudes than here. Russians apparently did not like DST through winter and they're at similar or higher latitudes than us.
1
MachineSpirited7085 Apr 20, 2026 +18
I'll believe it when they make it official. They've been "expecting" for years.
18
peepee2tiny Apr 20, 2026 +21
It's official. we had a referendum on it a few years back and 50.2% said to continue to move clocks, so Alberta kicked the can down the road. Now that our provincial neighbour did it, Albertan government just announced it today.
21
Then-Somewhere-7467 Apr 20, 2026 +12
I am totally fine with this. I hate changing the time.
12
PhantomNomad Apr 20, 2026 -3
We should all just use UTC time. Instead of starting work at 0800 MDT we would start at 1400 UTC. Why do we need to have the clock be at 1200 for the sun to be at it's highest. Why can't it be at it's highest at 1800 UTC?
-3
PleasantWay7 Apr 20, 2026 +6
That doesn’t work for humans, only Vulcans. Especially in a high travel world like ours, having all cultures using similar times for morning, lunch, other things helps normalize a whole lot of things. And it is really hard to rewire your brain from work being from 8-5 to being from 1-9 because we decided to use UTC. It just isn’t practical.
6
PhantomNomad Apr 20, 2026 +1
It was kind of a joke. Only ships at sea use utc mostly. I'm a ham radio guy so I use utc a lot and you get used to it. We have a net (a bunch of us check in and talk about various stuff) that goes every day at 0100 UTC so right now that switches between 6 or 7 pm. It was easier to stop thinking about if it's 6 or 7 and just start thinking in utc all the time. A few of my clock around the house are set to utc (my wife also hates this). But it's like tv shows where they have a bank of clocks on the wall with all the different time zone, only I just have two, one local and one utc.
1
Settler42 Apr 21, 2026 +2
only use UTC as a reference. they mostly still operate in the timezone they are in
2
Then-Somewhere-7467 Apr 20, 2026 +3
I'll be happy with the current time without time change.
3
averyrdc Apr 20, 2026 +2
Because that’s stupid as hell.
2
coffee_achiever Apr 20, 2026 -13
no time change = good. 1pm = sun at peak of sky = facepalm.
-13
Then-Somewhere-7467 Apr 20, 2026 +1
Are you talking in riddles? Nobody has time for that, Whether you give or take an hour.
1
No-Sample-8280 Apr 20, 2026 +17
thank f*** we finally stopped pretending moving the clocks twice a year makes any sense.
17
Zeikos Apr 20, 2026 +2
And everybody does it in different days, not to say that the northen and southern hemisphere do it the opposite way. I want to see the day daylight savings get abolished globally, it cannot come soon enough.
2
Important-Sign-3701 Apr 20, 2026 +3
its not likely going to go that way as the other provinces have decided to stay with day light savings time.
3
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026 +1
And I will do anything I can to fight against you. Winter is bad enough, you want to make summer like that too?
1
Zeikos Apr 20, 2026 +1
Why would it make summer bad o.O?
1
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026 +2
Take away an hour of sunlight in the evenings and have it get light hours before you want to be awake.
2
Zeikos Apr 20, 2026 +1
Nothing prevents you from waking up an hour earlier though? It's what daylight savings does anyways. There was a purpose when saving one hour of artificial lighting led to considerable savings, now leds are so efficient that it doesn't serve that purpose anymore.
1
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026
My sanity. Why the f*** would I wake up an hour earlier in the morning if I didn't have to?
0
Zeikos Apr 21, 2026 +1
But you wouldn't actually be waking up an hour earlier, you'd wake up at the same hour, the only change would be what hour is displayed on the clock.
1
Dullcorgis Apr 21, 2026 +1
When I don't have to be up. Even if I was up, I'm hardly going to be dancing around enjoying it, am I?
1
MaximumPepper123 Apr 20, 2026 +5
Sigh... I hope all of North America can get on the same page about this. Otherwise, figuring out time zones is going to suck when computer programming.
5
shabibbles Apr 20, 2026 +11
No programmer touches time zones. You plug into a library that only a few poor miserable souls maintain and never touch it. Tom Scott made a very in-depth video about this years ago
11
bass248 Apr 20, 2026 +5
Let the domino effect continue. I knew once British Columbia did it everyone else would follow. Hopefully the American House/Senate will eventually pass the sunshine protection act or something similar
5
Itisd Apr 20, 2026 +4
Can someone get Doug Ford on board to do the same? We don't need to wait for New York and Quebec, why don't we lead rather than follow for once?
4
Jonesdeclectice Apr 21, 2026 +4
Because Doug Ford’s too busy trying to figure out how to sell that private jet he bought for similar price to what he paid while avoiding all the brokerage fees. F****** dummy’s going to have cost us $10m for being a complete imbecile.
4
yawaramin Apr 21, 2026 +1
Apparently there's a law on the books that we need to wait for New York.
1
Itisd Apr 21, 2026 +2
We can change that law. 
2
Lasagna_Lizard Apr 20, 2026 +2
Hooray! My province is in the news for not-soul-crushing reasons!
2
Unusual-Phase-5094 Apr 21, 2026 +2
I’m jealous
2
psychedelych Apr 21, 2026 +4
Please Ontario I am begging you
4
goingfullretard-orig Apr 20, 2026 +3
If any of these provinces bothered to read the science around this, they would have picked standard time, not daylight savings. But, "What do scientists know?" is a typical Alberta stance.
3
reasonably_plausible Apr 20, 2026 +7
I'm pretty sure the science is that DST and standard time both have benefits and drawbacks, but the changing of time is entirely detrimental. So there isn't a clear w***** between the two, you just need to choose one and stick with it. Is there anything scientific, in particular, that you believe shows that standard time is the clear, superior option.
7
brazilliandanny Apr 20, 2026 +9
I really don't car about seeing the sun in the morning. I do care about the sun going down at 3:30 though. I mean in the winter its not fully up till most people are sitting at their desks indoors anyway.
9
goingfullretard-orig Apr 20, 2026 +11
As far as I understand it, which isn't very far admittedly, it's better for our circadian rhythms to be on the standard time. It's not about our "preferences" based on our work or light biases, but about the actual rhythms of our physiology. We're hard-wired in our relationship to light.
11
brazilliandanny Apr 20, 2026 +6
I have an alarm clock that slowly lights the room so I do wake up naturally using circadian rhythms. Regardless even with standard time, in the winter the sun is still coming up later than most people are waking up so its not helping them naturally wake. The sun going down at 4pm is making them depressed though.
6
yawaramin Apr 21, 2026 +2
People can get sunlight lamps for winter depression. In the summer, no one actually needs daylight till 9 pm. It's for the sun to set at 8 pm.
2
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026 +7
Exactly. I'm hardly doing a bit of gardening or a walk in the morning.
7
AFK_Tornado Apr 21, 2026 +2
In academic terms, f*** that. In fact, move the clock forward two hours. Three! Morning bastards gonna morning whether it's light or not; give me later sunsets in winter.
2
East1st Apr 22, 2026 +2
Governments care more about consumer economics than health science. DST promotes more consumer consumption, so it’s favoured by governments.
2
BasicBlood Apr 21, 2026 +4
Love when the listnook scientists throw this one around. A bunch of studies done in California have no external validity for Canadian latitudes (if you bothered to read around science you'd know this). We don't want to exist in darkness all winter. Username checks out I guess though.
4
[deleted] Apr 21, 2026 +2
[deleted]
2
RM_r_us Apr 21, 2026
Dude, the sun is down at 3:30ish in Edmonton in the winter. People are still at work, not drinking on the patio or watching tv. Tell me you you've never been to Alberta, without actually saying you've never been. Yeesh.
0
Potential-Bee3866 Apr 21, 2026 +1
Nice. Wish America would follow suit..
1
Goku420overlord Apr 21, 2026 +1
About f****** time. And we got fluoride back recently. If the cons get booted it would be a triple win
1
TurbulentSurvey4649 Apr 24, 2026
Kids will wait for the bus now at 7:15 is total darkness in the winter’s coldest time with the sun only rising at 9:45. That sounds amazing and safe, not.
0
YqlUrbanist Apr 20, 2026 -3
They picked the wrong option but at least we don't have to keep changing our clocks. I'd accept just about any time zone as long as we stick to it.
-3
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026 +24
Permanent summer time is the correct choice. Imagine what kind of crazy person would rather an hour of sun during a morning commute instead of an hour of sun with your family outside after school?
24
YqlUrbanist Apr 20, 2026 +5
This may be a shock but different people have different schedules. There is a consensus among researchers that standard time is better for our sleep quality overall. That being said, the harm of switching is far worse than the harm of being one hour off from the optimal time. This is still a win.
5
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026 +4
Well for us with kids, it’s absolutely better to have an hour of playtime with them in the afternoon outside, than making my first hour at work sunny. Sleep is only affected at high latitudes, like the UK or maybe very northern Alberta.
4
YqlUrbanist Apr 20, 2026 +1
Damn, it's crazy that all these researchers have investigated this when they could have just asked a random parent on listnook to tell them the right answer based on vibes. Seems really inefficient.
1
KhausTO Apr 20, 2026 +4
Every single one of these "Standard time is better" studies I've seen fails to account for the fact that real life exists and that people, especially in Canada in the winter, are at work and/or school by the time the sun comes up in the morning regardless of what version of a timezone we live in. So yes, in a pure theoretical perfect world getting the sunlight in the morning is better. But in the actual world, where everyone who goes outside and touches grass, and has to be at a job or at school before the suns even up anyway. It's actually better in the evening. Sometimes people can be book-smart, but it's the street-smart people who actually get how real life works. Not to mention, the benefits are so marginally better one or the other that the only place it actually makes a meaningful difference is for people making the argument that it's better on paper. Because again, the real-world doesn't always mimic theoretical proof.
4
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026 +2
Correct, a lot of studies are done in England too which is weirdly much higher in latitude than almost everyone in Canada 
2
Yarhj Apr 20, 2026 +2
I'm not an expert in this area, but based on a limited review of the research in favor of standard time, it's not really all that convincing. The studies that people most often point to make some significant assumptions about the way people live their lives that I don't really think are fully supported. The ones I've seen typically assume that people go to bed at 10, get up at 7, and have sunlight both before *and after* work. With permanent standard time you make the trade that during winter there will be more sunlight for more people in the morning in exchange for very little or no sunlight in the evening. The key argument in favor permanent ST is that morning sun helps reset the circadian rhythm, whereas evening sun disrupts it, and I have no reason to dispute this.  What the studies typically fail to account for in any way is the impact of zero or little sunlight in the evening. They go into great detail about the possible mental health effects of disrupted sleep due to the lack of morning sun, but completely ignore the mental health and fitness effects of having no sunlight in the evenings (e.g. increased mental health issues, increases in sedentary behavior since outdoor activities are less viable, disruption to sleep schedule due to lack of sunlight in the evenings, and so on). I think the studies do a solid job of explaining and capturing the benefits of permanent standard time, but a fairly poor job of accounting for the benefits of permanent summer/daylight time. Will any of that meaningfully change the conclusions? I have no idea. But it feels like the research is all fairly synthetic and one-sided in this regard. Anecdotally, going to the work in the dark feels fine, whereas leaving work in the dark feels depressing as f***. Perhaps someone with more familiarity with the research in this area can comment and shed some more light on this.
2
yawaramin Apr 21, 2026 +3
Switching to permanent standard time wouldn't make you any worse off than you are already in winter–winter time is already standard time. It would give you more morning light in the summers and slightly less evening light, which is absolutely fine. Who actually needs daylight until 9 pm? Outside the tourism lobby, literally no one.
3
Yarhj Apr 21, 2026 +1
Switching to permanent standard time wouldn't make winter suck any more than it already does, but it would make summer suck more. Switching to permanent daylight/summer time would make winter suck less and wouldn't make summer suck more. One of these is the clear w***** for me. I personally *like* having sun til 9, because by the time I get home and have dinner, it's already around 7:30PM. *With* Daylight/summer time the latest the sun sets around here is around 8:30PM, and I get to see the sun during hours I can actually enjoy it for about 5 months a year. On permanent standard time I'd *never* have sun during time I could actually use it. Likewise, on permanent standard time I'd be leaving work in the dark for 6 months out of the year, so basically for half the year I'd never see the sun outside my commute to work. On permanent summer time I'd never have to leave work in the dark. Leaving work in the dark is really depressing for me, in a way that heading *to* work in the dark is not, but I get that not everyone feels the same. I get that not everyone has the same situation, and that people place different value on morning sun vs. evening sun, but for me permanent standard time would be a big downgrade.
1
coffee_achiever Apr 20, 2026 -1
The sun doesn't change. All that changes is your perception of what 8am vs 9 am means to different groups of people.
-1
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026 +5
False. Work and school start at a fixed time, so the having permanent summer time would be very beneficial for almost everyone.
5
[deleted] Apr 20, 2026
[deleted]
0
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026 +1
Wait not so permanent summer time?
1
Icy_Walrus_5035 Apr 21, 2026
Someone who has a normal circadian rhythm…
0
MaggotMinded Apr 20, 2026 -5
Yeah, until winter rolls around and you’ve got kids walking to school in the dark.
-5
KhausTO Apr 20, 2026 +4
they do right now in the winter anyway.
4
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026 +8
Or walking home in the dark. You aren't changing the number of hours of daylight, you are shifting them to when they are useful.
8
MaggotMinded Apr 20, 2026 +1
Depending on grade level, school usually lets out sometime between 2:30-4:00pm. Even in Winter, it’s not dark yet at that time. So no, you wouldn’t have kids walking home in the dark with or without daylight savings.
1
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026 +5
Your kids don't have afterschool? And yes it's getting dark at 4
5
MaggotMinded Apr 20, 2026 +2
Unless you live in Yukon or something, the sun does not set at 4pm even on the shortest day of the year. And the kids whose safety would be of greatest concern would be the younger ones anyway, and they are usually let out much earlier than that. All in all, only a portion of schoolchildren are staying after school long enough for it to get dark in the Winter, but virtually *all* schoolchildren go to school at the same time in the morning, so you can try to spin it all you want, but there’s no escaping the fact that kids will be spending more time commuting in the dark if clocks are not turned back in the Fall.
2
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026 +1
This could not be more wrong, keeping daylight savings during fall gives you months of days with one more hour of sunlight per day with your kids afterschool.  Who cares if the first hour of work is sunny, isn’t it better to have sun when your family is home after work and school?
1
yawaramin Apr 21, 2026 +3
> isn’t it better to have sun when your family is home after work and school? Not really, because the family is home after work and school. Why do you need daylight till like 9 pm when you're home?
3
MaggotMinded Apr 20, 2026 +3
Well now you’re moving the goalposts. I specifically mentioned that kids would have to walk to school in the dark, and you replied that they would have to walk home in the dark instead. I refuted that, and now you’re talking about time spent at home *after* they’re home from school. So no, I’m not wrong; you’re just talking about something else entirely. I can’t speak to anyone’s priorities but my own. If you’d rather have the extra daylight in the afternoon/evening, then fine. But when it comes to the windows of time during which kids commute to and from school — i.e. what I was talking about in the first place — it will absolutely be darker overall. Edit: Just noticed you’re not the same person who replied to me initially. Still, my point stands.
3
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026
You might have me confused with another poster, I never spoke about kids walking to school in the morning Shifting an hour later where I am would mean a sunny walk home for my kid in winter. So that’s good.
0
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026
It is quite dark before the sun sets. Look around you sometimes.
0
MaggotMinded Apr 20, 2026 +3
Dude, it is not dark at 4pm throughout the vast majority of the Winter, plus you’re ignoring the fact that the youngest kids are out of school much earlier than that. Give it up already.
3
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026
The youngest kids start school the latest and they stay for after school.
0
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026 +4
So you want permanent daylight savings time, great we agree
4
MaggotMinded Apr 20, 2026 +3
Umm, no. In Spring we turn the clocks forward. In Fall we turn them back. If we had “permanent summer time” as you suggested, that means we would turn the clocks forward in the Spring and then leave them that way forever. Which means that come Winter, instead of the sun rising between 7:30-8:00am, it won’t rise until 8:30-9:00am.
3
brazilliandanny Apr 20, 2026 +8
Would rather have the sun at 5pm when my day is over than 8:30 when I'm about to sit indoors for 8 hours.
8
Ted_Striker1 Apr 20, 2026 -7
Have fun with the sun rising between 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM in winter. Kids would be going to school in the dark. EDIT: Apparently they already go to school in the dark up there. So for them it makes no morning difference. For me where I live it would make a large difference.
-7
Signal_Flight_7262 Apr 20, 2026 +24
Even with the time change its dark when going to work anyways in the winter. No real difference.
24
BangerSlapper1 Apr 20, 2026 +13
Yes, but it’s a matter of which hour it’s more valuable to have the sunlight, even if just on an emotional or psychological level.  I would imagine for most people it’s the afterschool/work hours.   
13
Konker101 Apr 20, 2026 +1
DST was just a WW1 tactic to conserve fuel. We dont need to do that anymore and it should have been rid 70 years ago.
1
Ted_Striker1 Apr 20, 2026 +1
It's more than just an outdated tactic now. Where I live it means we don't have to deal with the sun rising at 4:30 AM in the summer and setting at 8:00 PM (if DLS was abolished), and in winter it means the kids don't go to school and people don't go to work in the dark (if DLS was made permanent). So it entirely depends on where you live.
1
kileek Apr 20, 2026 +37
At least it won’t be dark at 4:00pm.
37
geoken Apr 20, 2026 +34
I’m in Ontario, but having the sun rise after I’m already at work is worth it to not be leaving work in darkness. It’s a tradeoff on one end or the other. I think most are happy to take the extra sun after they finish work.
34
Ted_Striker1 Apr 20, 2026 -6
I don't like the idea of the kids going to school in the dark. Maybe they already do up in Alberta though?
-6
Signal_Flight_7262 Apr 20, 2026 +19
Even with the time change we went to school in the dark. In Alberta and BC.
19
DWKM Apr 20, 2026 +10
Can confirm, I went to school when it was dark
10
iamnos Apr 20, 2026 +3
If the sun isn't rising until 9:50, then even changing means it'd be at 8:50. Most elementary schools start school at 8:00 or 8:30.
3
Ted_Striker1 Apr 20, 2026
I read sunrise in Alberta is between 8:00 AM and 8:50 AM, and that is standard time. If the clocks were permanently set forward an hour it would be 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM. I guess it doesn't matter if the kids are already going to school in the dark though. I live a lot further south where in the winter the kids are going to school in the daylight, but if they made daylight savings permanent it would shift it to where they would be going in the dark and I consider that a safety risk.
0
iamnos Apr 20, 2026 +2
Lots of kids in Alberta already go to school in the dark. It may expand the number of kids exposed to the risk, but it's not a net new risk.
2
wineandchocolatecake Apr 20, 2026 +1
I remember sitting in class in elementary school when it was still dark out. (I’m Canadian.)
1
VonDingwell Apr 20, 2026 +1
Yes, doesnt matter. Especially for Edmonton north. For someone who has lived his whole life north of the 54-55 latitude dst made little difference. Time shift was only brought in during WWI to help save on coal. First the Germans and Austrias. Didnt truly gain traction till WWII, once again energy conservation.
1
Ted_Striker1 Apr 20, 2026 +1
Here where I live, considerably further south, it makes a big difference. Here the kids go to school in the daylight in the winter, but if they made daylight savings permanent they'd suddenly be going to school in the dark. I consider that a safety risk. Don't like the idea of it. I love the idea of more daylight in the afternoon but not at the expense of the kids going to school in the dark.
1
geoken Apr 20, 2026 +1
Growing up, we played street hockey until it was dark (of course we had to play near a street light). It’s just another tradeoff. Kids aren’t going to school in the dark - but if it gets dark at 4:27, kids are playing after school in the dark. When there’s less than 8 hours of sun - one side of your day is going to need to be bookended by darkness.
1
North_Activist Apr 20, 2026 +7
You can actually enjoy and have fun in the winter with your 5:30pm sunsets, unlike it is now.
7
Forum_Browser Apr 20, 2026 +9
I'm looking forward to it because it means the sun won't be setting at 4:00 ever again. I won't be arriving home after work in the pitch black.
9
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026 +4
But you get an extra hour of sun in the afternoon with your family? Sign me up!!
4
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026 +2
Better than having it set at 3pm
2
KombaynNikoladze2002 Apr 20, 2026
People who love DLS don't seem to get this.
0
mrRobertman Apr 20, 2026 +4
You act like no one has tried permanent DST before. Saskatchewan has been on permanent DST since the 60s. Parts of BC since the 70s. Yukon since 2020. They all seem pretty fine with DST.
4
Spave Apr 21, 2026 +1
Technically Saskatchewan is on permanent standard time but is the timezone ahead of Alberta.
1
mrRobertman Apr 21, 2026 +2
Yes, but only really on a technicality. While Saskatchewan uses CST, they geographically should be using MST, which is why I said they are on permanent DST (as MDT is the same as CST).
2
Funicularly Apr 20, 2026 +5
Get what? Having an extra hour of sunlight after school or work? Sign me up!
5
Redditisavirusiknow Apr 20, 2026 +5
I love daylight savings time! Trade an hour of darkness in my morning commute for an hour of sun with my family after school? That’s amazing!! Time outside with my 4 year old matters more than a morning commute lol.
5
Ted_Striker1 Apr 20, 2026 +1
I'm learning that it depends on how far north you live. Up in Alberta they're going to school and work in the dark no matter what so yeah an extra hour of daylight in the afternoon is great. For me living in the mid Atlantic region an extra hour of daylight in the afternoon means the sunrise has shifted to after school and work start which would drive me bonkers and I think cause a lot of safety issues with the kids. In my region the sun rises between around 6:40 AM - 7:30 AM in winter (and it's not 7:30 here) so a permanent DLS shifts that to 7:40 AM - 8:30 AM and suddenly we are going to school and work in the dark. No thank you.
1
KombaynNikoladze2002 Apr 21, 2026 +2
Yeah, I'm even further south than you, I get where you're coming from.
2
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026
That sunlight when you can use it is nice?
0
DODGEDEEZNUTZ Apr 20, 2026
It will be worth being able to be outside while the sun is out. As it stands currently it rises while most people are at work, and then sets as they leave work.
0
PensilEraser Apr 20, 2026 -3
eli5, As someone from another country  not using dst, why not reschedule/shift  everyone to work like an hr before or after and keep the official time in sync with the world? Especially if the dst move is permanent.
-3
BangerSlapper1 Apr 20, 2026 +7
Because it’s easier to shift time than to shift the lives of millions of people?
7
Krigen89 Apr 20, 2026 +6
In reality it's the same.
6
MattGeddon Apr 20, 2026 +1
Because changing the clocks twice a year is much easier and less confusing.
1
Macdaddy357 Apr 20, 2026 -8
With really late sunrise in the winter, they will quickly regret it.
-8
Much-Neighborhood171 Apr 20, 2026 +8
It's winter, the sun already rises late with standard time. Going from sunrise occurring when I arrive at work to an hour into my shift doesn't really bother me. Watching the sun set just as work ends is absolutely terrible and I will enjoy having at least some sunlight after work in the winter.
8
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026 +3
What's the difference if I'm at work?
3
MaggotMinded Apr 20, 2026 -2
Yep. This has been tried before in various places throughout the world and it usually ends with people being upset that it’s still dark out when their kids are going to school in the winter. I live in British Columbia, where they just announced that we won’t be doing daylight savings anymore. I’m looking forward to watching in real time as the reality sets in for people who advocated for this. Plus, I work for a global company with offices in several different timezones, so I’m also kind of annoyed that it’s going to make keeping track of time differences even more complicated.
-2
WardenEdgewise Apr 20, 2026 -4
So, everyone is switching one time zone to the east? BC is on permanent UTC-7 (Mountain Standard Time) and now Alberta will be on permanent Central Standard Time (UTC-6) People are going to hate it in the winter. It won’t get light out until 9:00 in the morning.
-4
Madman200 Apr 20, 2026 +11
That’s fine by me, we get the same amount of sunlight either way, would much rather shift it more towards the side that I am off work as opposed to the side where I am getting ready for work. I never notice when the sun rises in the morning, but goddamn if I don’t notice when the sun sets at 4:30 in the afternoon.
11
KhausTO Apr 20, 2026 +4
The most enjoyable period of time in my life was when I was physically in Alberta and essentially operating as if I was in Ontario (I was working Ontario hours remotely to match the rest of my team). So working from 7AM-3PM In the winter it was dark either way when I started my day. And when I was done work at 5PM Eastern, (3PM in Alberta) I had a couple hours after work to go outside. Now I'm working normal Alberta time, and wrap up my day at 5PM, and it's already been dark for a half hour on the shortest days. And guess what? It was still dark when I started working anyway. So I sat in my office during the entire daylight period. At least now, I'll have an hour-ish after work for some sunlight outdoors before it gets dark. tldr, I've already lived this. It's fantastic.
4
Dullcorgis Apr 20, 2026 +1
So you get to feel smug about being up so early it's still dark, and when you leave work and it's still light you don't feel so horribly depressed.
1
VicMackeyLKN Apr 21, 2026 -1
Banff was so nice
-1
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