Alberta Might Stop Observing Daylight Saving Time And Honestly That's A Great Idea

Daylight saving time is stupid.

A bill that would see Alberta stop changing the clocks twice a year for daylight saving time has gotten a huge public response, with three quarters of respondents supporting the idea.

Amber Bracken / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Spearheaded by Edmonton MLA Thomas Dang, Bill 203 would mean the province would no longer "spring forward" and "fall back" by an hour. Instead, the clocks would remain the same all year, as part of a new Alberta Standard Time.

The legislature sought public input on the possible change through an online survey, and some 13,500 people responded. As first reported by the Edmonton Journal, 74% of Albertans who responded were in favour of scrapping daylight saving time altogether, 24% were opposed, and another 1% were undecided.

Although not a scientific sampling of the province, it seems to corroborate an earlier government poll that found 82% support for keeping clocks the same all year.

Not everyone is so eager to abandon the time shift. Westjet, as well as the airports in Calgary and Edmonton, all oppose the bill.

Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Westjet told legislators that Bill 203 would mess with the company's plan to "make Calgary a global aviation hub" and continue expanding operations in Edmonton since it would make the province out-of-sync with the rest of the country, thereby complicating scheduling.

The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames also aren't stoked on the change because it would mean some games would start and end later in the evenings. That would make catching games on TV and in person more of a pain for fans.

But there are also lots of good reasons for everyone — including the rest of Canada — to give up on the silly tradition of daylight saving time.

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Adopted as a way to maximize daylight hours during the darker months, daylight saving time has been linked with higher rates of depression, heart attacks, and traffic accidents.

Then there's the fact that it's just annoying as hell.

The committee studying Bill 203 will submit its report on the proposed time change by Oct. 4. Currently, Saskatchewan is the only province in Canada that abstains from this ridiculous time-shifting ritual.