Spring forward forever? Alberta premier wonders if it should be referendum question

This past weekend, the premier said her party is once again considering letting people vote on the issue of changing the clocks forward and back.

Albertans will spring forward in March and that has more than a few wondering when we can stop changing our clocks.

On Your Province, Your Premier, her radio call-in show Saturday, Danielle Smith said the UCP are “actively discussing” if they should bring this forward as a referendum question.

“I think maybe what we need to do is just (ask Albertans), do you want to end the time change?” Smith said.

“Then we can sort of do some consultation about whether we want standard time year-round or daylight time year-round? Right now, we’re on daylight time eight months of the year and so it kind of makes sense to me we would stay on daylight time.”

In October, 2021, Alberta held a referendum on the time change in conjunction with the municipal election.

A bare majority -- 50.2 per cent -- voted to continue the twice-yearly time change but the premier has acknowledged on some of her past radio broadcasts that the question wasn’t as clearly stated as it could have been.