Spring forward: What to know about the annual time change in Manitoba

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Age-old debate springs forward as Daylight Saving Time looms

Preparing for Daylight Saving Time

Manitobans are preparing to spring forward this weekend, losing an extra hour of sleep as the province enters Daylight Saving Time.

The annual clock change is set to come into effect at 2 a.m. on Sunday.

The City of Winnipeg reminded the public to change their clocks afterwards.

“The stove, the coffee maker, and the clock on the wall: daylight saving time reminds you of all the places you can find the time in your home,” the city wrote on its website.

The city’s first responders also hope you’ll use the day to test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms by pressing and holding the button until the alarm sounds.

If it doesn’t, you should replace the batteries. If that doesn’t do the trick, replace the unit altogether.

The city said the time change is also an opportunity to check your Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) if you have them. AED batteries and contact pads have a shelf life, the city warned, and require regular maintenance. Details can be found in the manufacturer’s instructions.

Sleep expert shares tips to prepare for time change

The time change can wreak havoc on sleep schedules for adults and kids alike.

Pediatric sleep consultant Joleen Dilk Salyn said Daylight Saving Time transitions both in the fall and spring can take a toll because it readjusts your entire schedule, from meals to bedtime.

“Kids tend to get a little bit cranky. Parents are cranky. It’s not a fun time,” she said in an interview on CTV Morning Live Winnipeg.

She said it takes about a week for our circadian rhythm, which is our body’s internal clock, to fully adjust to the time change.

To combat the effects, Dilk Salin recommends parents with infants to start moving back their schedules 15 or 30 minutes at a time, if they are able.

On Sunday morning, she recommends letting them sleep in and adjust. Exposing them to the morning sunshine can also help them reset that circadian rhythm.

If you don’t have that luxury, you’re going to start moving to that new schedule come Monday.

“If their bedtime used to be seven o’clock, they’re not going to be tired at seven o’clock anymore because it’s going to feel like six. You may have to be putting them to bed a little bit later for a while,” she said.

For babies, that could be 30 minutes later, and for toddlers and preschoolers, it could be up to an hour later.

She cautioned this will only last for a few days. Their bodies will adjust, and bedtime can settle back down to its typical time.

For adults, Dilk Salyn said to be careful of your own sleep.

“You’ll adjust. Just be very careful of what you’re doing.”

‘Why are we doing this?’ Tory MLA wants end to Daylight Saving

One Manitoba politician has had enough of the time change.

“Why are we doing this? We’ve done this for, like, 100 years, and nobody knows why we do this,” MLA Ron Schuler (Springfield-Ritchot) told CTV News.

The Tory MLA brought a private member’s bill to the Manitoba legislature calling for amendments that would do away with Daylight Saving.

“What I’m suggesting is we would tie ourselves in with the same time as Saskatchewan because they also don’t have time change anymore,” he told CTV News.

That would be welcome news to sleep expert Dr. Diana McMillan.

“Unfortunately, most of our society is sleep deprived,” McMillan said.

The professor in the University of Manitoba’s College of Nursing said the one-hour change can have severe consequences on your health.

“We know that there is a greater risk of cardiovascular issues, high blood pressure, heart issues. We also know that you’re not as cognitively sharp,” she said.

The provincial government did not respond to CTV’s request for comment. Premier Wab Kinew has previously said what Manitoba does depends on our neighbours.

“If our partners, like Minnesota for instance, were to move away from daylight saving time, then we would just automatically move in the same direction,” Kinew told reporters back in November 2024.

- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagacé and Danton Unger