‘Alberta Time’: Legislation tabled to move Alberta to permanent daylight time

When Albertans stop changing the clocks twice a year they'll move to "Alberta Time," according to Service Alberta minister Dale Nally.

Alberta tabled legislation on Thursday to create a permanent “Alberta Time” time zone on Mountain Daylight Time.

If passed, Alberta’s Daylight Saving Time Act would be renamed the Official Time Act.

Using permanent daylight time means Albertans will experience longer dark mornings in the winter.

The government has said one of the benefits of eliminating clock changes is better alignment with provincial and territorial neighbours: B.C. recently adopted year-round daylight saving time, putting it on the same schedule as Yukon since 2020; Saskatchewan has used a year-round standard time since the ’60s; and the Northwest Territories is committing to following Alberta’s lead, as the two jurisdictions share a time zone.

Some health and biology experts say standard time is better for the human body. Alberta’s premier suggested Albertans should try year-round daylight time for one year before deciding they don’t like it, and said the government could put the matter to a vote in 2027.

“We can have this conversation all day about circadian rhythms, about car accidents, about reprogramming your oven. But at the end of the day, we have heard from Albertans that they want to stop this process of changing clocks twice a year. They want consistency. Industry wants a long runway to plan for it,” Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally said during a news conference Thursday morning.

“I’m confident that Albertans will embrace daylight savings time.”

Government officials said they conducted two rounds of consultations with stakeholders across industries, including both major cities’ professional hockey clubs, in 2020-21 and again in late March. The stakeholders were asked if there was a change, whether they preferred permanent daylight or standard time. Opinion was split much like the public’s, according to the Alberta government, except that most stakeholders wanted as much notice as possible to prepare.

The Alberta government also said it would be working with big tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft to ensure Albertans’ devices do not fall back in November.

The province announced earlier this week that it would be moving to make the change.

Other changes

“Alberta Time” was only one of a slew of changes proposed in an omnibus bill on Thursday.

If passed, Bill 31, the Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, would amend 18 pieces of legislation across eight ministries.

Other changes include:

• enabling Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC), with limitation, to sell personal information. Nally said the purpose of this is to enable the AGLC to transfer customer accounts, such as in the hypothetical case that a company wanted to buy PlayAlberta, the province’s only legal, regulated iGaming site;
• putting AGLC in charge of iGaming advertising rules;
• granting the environment and protected areas minister the power to name materials to be included in recycling programs and banned from landfills across the province;
• allowing sub-regional development plans to continue without an approved regional plan in place, still subject to government approval;
• increasing expansion limits for the St. Mary River, Western and United irrigation districts to irrigate more land with the same amount of water, which the government says is possible through modernization;
• extending the schedule on which the government reviews its 20-year strategic capital plan from four years to seven years; and
• empowering provincial park staff to take on more management duties.

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• N.W.T to follow Alberta in ditching clock changes, will adopt permanent daylight time

With files from The Canadian Press