B.C. to change clocks this weekend, despite years of promises to end long-standing practice

It's been four years of waiting on a promise from the province to end time changes in B.C., but we're still waiting on our American neighbours to lead the charge.

B.C. government said 4 years ago it would end time changes in B.C.

Courtney Dickson · CBC News · Posted: Nov 04, 2023 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: November 4, 2023

A large clock atop a skyscraper. — B.C. continues to wait for its American neighbours to stop changing the clock, but it's unclear when or if that will ever happen. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

B.C. is once again changing its clocks this weekend.

After years of promises that the province would eventually end time changes and stick with daylight time, it's still a chore.

And while an extra hour of sleep might feel great on Sunday morning, it just means we'll lose an hour come spring.

Former premier John Horgan promised in 2019 that B.C. would end the twice-yearly time changes, but didn't give a firm timeline. However, both he and current Premier David Eby have said legislation won't be enacted until B.C.'s American neighbours — including Washington state, Oregon and California — do the same.

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B.C. is once again changing its clocks this weekend, despite years of promises that the province would eventually end time changes and stick with daylight time. CBC's Maurice Katz went out and asked people in Vancouver what they think about daylight savings time.

"With two young kids at home, I know how disruptive this time change can be for families," Eby said in an emailed statement to CBC News Friday.

"We all want this to be the last time we make the change, and we look forward to working with our neighbours on the West Coast to make sure all of our clocks are aligned."

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B.C. passed legislation in 2019 to stay on daylight time but wants to make the change in concert with the entire West Coast.

The Sunshine Protection Act was passed by the U.S. Senate in 2022, hoping to make daylight time permanent this past spring. But it still hasn't passed in the House of Representatives, which has the final say.

It was reintroduced to the House in March 2023, but there's been no real movement since.

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Opposition party B.C. United, formerly the B.C. Liberals, says its been pushing for the change for more than five years.

"A majority of countries, and 79 per cent of the global population, don't change their clocks and for those of us who do, the time change process disrupts sleep schedules and has been linked to an increase in accidents and a decrease in productivity," press secretary Andrew Reeve said in an email.

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He pointed to a public consultation in 2019, where more than 223,000 British Columbians voted on whether or not to stop switching clocks. A whopping 93 per cent of participants voted in favour of a move to permanent daylight time.

"Meanwhile, the NDP government has dragged their feet on this for years. It's long overdue to permanently end the time change," Reeve said.