Time change is still a thing for Manitobans, we return to Daylight Saving Time

Daylight saving time starts early Sunday morning for Manitobans as we move clocks forward one hour. 

Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen is optimistic about legislation being passed this spring that would bring Manitoba closer to ending the seasonal time changes. 

“There is legislation right now that's before the legislature, that I would expect to pass by June,” he says. “It won't end the changing of the time in the spring and the fall unless that's what happens across the border on the US side.” 

Goertzen says this topic is also being discussed in the United States. 

“I think the reason why the Canadian provinces have decided to wait to see what the Americans do, is that they don't want to have this landscape of uncertainty when it comes to different States and who has what time frame? It would cause a lot of trouble for business, it would cause a lot of trouble at the border in terms of the border hours, it would cause issues with flight times and trades. So, that's really why I think there is a desire in Canada, among the Canadian provinces, to get a sense of where the Americans are.” 

The Manitoba government is planning to engage with residents and stakeholders to hear how permanent daylight saving time would affect them. 

While Goertzen will not try to predict a timeline for the end of time changes in our province, he confidently speculates that we will still be changing our clocks this year. 

Manitoba returns to daylight saving time on Sunday, March 12th when 2am becomes 3am. We are scheduled to change our clocks again on November 5th. 

While Goertzen takes care of changing clocks in his home, he will not tackle the task in the Legislature. At least, not this time.

“They're really old clocks, they’re the old kind of analog clocks, there are hands that move around,” he says. “They're not digital clocks and they're really high up, because the ceilings in the legislature are really, really high ceilings. So, it's quite a production. I tried to do it one time, stand on some furniture and bring the clock down and change it. And it was highly discouraged after that... so, there are folks who do it there.” 

The province says the change from daylight saving time in spring to standard time in the fall "will continue in Manitoba until neighbouring jurisdictions pass legislation adopting permanent daylight saving time." 

In a press release, the provincial government states that previously planned public engagement will begin when neighbouring jurisdictions take action, to ensure the perspectives gathered from Manitobans are timely and relevant. 

“The province will continue to monitor developments and evaluate the best possible options for Manitoba.”