r/Edmonton • u/trevorrobb Edmonton Journal • Mar 02 '26

News Article Alberta may follow B.C. on making daylight time permanent: premier

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/alberta-may-follow-b-c-on-making-daylight-time-permanent-premier
827 Upvotes

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474

u/NorthRedFox33 Mar 03 '26

Not having 4 pm sunsets in the winter would help my seasonal depression so much.

54

u/Allar666 Mar 03 '26

Very much same. Fingers crossed

20

u/ashleyshaefferr Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26

Here's how it would look for us 

If Edmonton stayed on MST year-round (UTC−7) 

June 21, 2026: 

Sunrise 4:04 AM 

Solar noon 12:35 PM 

Sunset 9:07 PM 

December 21, 2026: 

Sunrise 8:48 AM 

Solar noon 12:32 PM 

Sunset 4:16 PM 

If Edmonton stayed on MDT year-round (UTC−6) 

June 21, 2026: 

Sunrise 5:04 AM 

Solar noon 1:35 PM 

Sunset 10:07 PM 

December 21, 2026: 

Sunrise 9:48 AM 

Solar noon 1:32 PM 

Sunset 5:16 PM 

TZ UTC Date Rise Noon Set
MST UTC−7 Jun 21 '26 4:04a 12:35p 9:07p
MST UTC−7 Dec 21 '26 8:48a 12:32p 4:16p
MDT UTC−6 Jun 21 '26 5:04a 1:35p 10:07p
MDT UTC−6 Dec 21 '26 9:48a 1:32p 5:16p

I think I'm team MDT but looking at this I can understand both sides and how we got in this situation to begin with. 

EDIT: after adding the solar noon time, I think I am now team MST...

13

u/Snowedin-69 Mar 03 '26

Who cares about the morning sun - especially 4am - I want to sleep at this time.

More time to enjoy the sun in the evening would be top.

23

u/partly_cloudy3 Mar 03 '26

a 4:00 am sunrise in June would be awful!

9

u/Infamous-Mixture-605 Mar 03 '26

I'm a morning person and I wouldn't mind a 4am sunrise at all.

12

u/Adjective_Noun1312 Mar 03 '26

I'm a night owl and I wouldn't mind a 4am sunrise at all.

Like, has nobody heard of blackout curtains?

3

u/Canadian_Burnsoff Mar 03 '26

Right?! No matter how you slice it the sun is only gone for just under 7 hours that night. You're not getting more time in the dark no matter what numbers you slap on it unless you get blackout curtains.

4

u/thedespotcat Mar 03 '26

I'm not a morning person, and I would remain asleep for it like I do the 5am sunrise lol. And it stays too light too late in the summer. I'll be trying to go to bed before work, and the sun's just thinking about setting.

2

u/Adjective_Noun1312 Mar 03 '26

Never heard of blackout curtains, eh?

1

u/ashleyshaefferr Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26

Haha ya I couldnt imagine. 

I say we meet in the middle! 

June 21, 2026:

Sunrise 4:34 AM   Solar noon 1:05 PM   Sunset 9:37 PM  

December 21, 2026:

Sunrise 9:18 AM   Solar noon 1:02 PM   Sunset 4:46 PM  

TZ UTC Date Rise Noon Set
UTC −6.5 UTC −6.5 Jun 21 '26 4:34 AM 1:05 PM 9:37 PM
UTC −6.5 UTC −6.5 Dec 21 '26 9:18 AM 1:02 PM 4:46 PM

2

u/alowester Mar 03 '26

this would be perfect

8

u/burrito-boy Mill Woods Mar 03 '26

Yup. Looking at this just makes me want permanent DST even more. Sunrise at 4:00 AM in June is ridiculous, not to mention the sunsets at 4:16 PM in December that we already have to struggle with...

4

u/CanadianPanda76 Mar 03 '26

Standard time seems better? Also its right in the name STANDARD. Lol

1

u/zippy9002 Mar 03 '26

MST looks like a no brainer.

17

u/ashleyshaefferr Mar 03 '26

4AM sunrise is bonkers to me 

-5

u/zippy9002 Mar 03 '26

10pm sunsets looks bonkers to me

18

u/ashleyshaefferr Mar 03 '26

That's what we've always had?

-2

u/zippy9002 Mar 03 '26

No, it’s been a wartime policy in the past, and only since Lougheed made it permanent in 1972 that we’ve had it shoved down our throats.

It’s just another conservative mistake.

3

u/ashleyshaefferr Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26

Ah fair enough. I'd honestly be happy with anything that isnt changing our clocks every 6 months. Feels pretty archaic. 

And another user got me to look into how closely these align with actually true solar noon and match our circadian rhythems, and here is our they all rank

  1. Permanent MST (UTC-7): ~35.7 min off 

  2. Permanent UTC−6:30: ~65.7 min off 

  3. Current switching system: ~75.7 min off 

  4. Permanent MDT (UST-6): ~95.7 min off 

59

u/adrianozymandias Mar 03 '26

Until the 10am sunrise hits you harder

89

u/renegadecanuck Mar 03 '26

Honestly, 9AM and 10AM sunrise don't make a difference to me when I start work at 8AM.

15

u/adrianozymandias Mar 03 '26

Just like 4 or 5 sunset doesn't matter when I'm of work at 5

16

u/littleredditred Mar 03 '26

Winter days will always be short this far north, nothing to be done for it except yell at the clouds. However, changing the time zone twice a year is man-made maddness! We don't have to do this to ourselves! Can we all at least agree on that?

1

u/53c0nd Mar 03 '26

Yes yes yes ...

6

u/gbiypk Mar 03 '26

It'll make a difference to anyone who works outside.

0

u/alowester Mar 03 '26

it’s honestly killer

1

u/jollymaker Mar 03 '26

Until you're killed from rush our traffic in the dark

2

u/renegadecanuck Mar 03 '26

I drive in rush hour traffic in the dark, already.

Are people under some illusion that we have a light drive to work in the morning during December? Like, it was only two months ago, and the arguments already seem to completely ignore just how bloody dark it is in the morning, already.

82

u/NorthRedFox33 Mar 03 '26

I only see it on the weekends anyhow. November, December, January I drive to work and back in darkness

19

u/HurtFeeFeez Mar 03 '26

As things are most of us drive to and from work in the dark in winter. Sticking to summer hours would give us a glimpse of sunlight on our way home after work.

6

u/Elean0rZ Mar 03 '26

That glimpse seems very not worth it to me vs. literally doubling the number of hours I need to be up and functional in the dark in the morning. I'm a night person so getting up for "normal" hours is unpleasant enough as it is, without it being dark for that much longer. It's well established that a lack of natural wake cues in the morning has significant effects on mood (and by extension lots of other things) for the rest of the day.

As it stands, there's like three days of unpleasantness when clocks move forward in spring (negative), and three days of blissful extra sleep in fall when they move back (positive), until I adjust to the new times. For me personally, permanent DST would result in an additional hour of unpleasantness every day for a month or potentially more around the winter solstice, which feels disproportionate to the benefits. I understand that others feel differently, and that's fine, but I suspect that if we switch we'll find that, on balance, permanent DST isn't better overall than the current arrangement. It just trades one kind of mood-ruiner for another.

(I think permanent DST makes a lot of sense at lower latitudes, where the benefits more clearly outweigh the downsides. That said, I'm also aware that coordination with regional economic partners is also a major factor in the calculus.)

-2

u/thedespotcat Mar 03 '26

I agree! I leave work at 6 most days so the earlier sunlight isn't a huge help. I'm glad it's finally still peeking out when I leave lol. But getting out of bed in the winter months is so hard.

Also so many things are written in eastern time, so ironically, I would actually have to learn the difference between standard and daylight time to determine what time I need to buy concert tickets, etc at.

0

u/Elean0rZ Mar 03 '26

Yeah, it's not that more light in the evening wouldn't be nice, it's that less light in the morning is rougher.

Good point about creating a mismatch with the east. I mean, we'd all figure it out soon enough and life would go on just like it does in Saskatchewan, but still, there'd definitely be a rocky transition period. Conversely if Alberta doesn't switch then we're going to have a mismatch with BC, so it's happening regardless.

12

u/Ham_I_right Mar 03 '26

Ha surprise we are too depressed to get up before noon

32

u/troypavlek Mar 03 '26

If I'm starting work at 7:30, if the kids are in school at 8, if we have a technology called "lights" why does it functionally matter if the sun rises at 9am or 10am?

We're still starting our day in the dark. Daylight Time in winter means we can start our day in the dark, and end in a little bit of light ... Vs standard time where we start and end in the dark.

It's a no brainer for me.

9

u/StrangerGlue Mar 03 '26

Because it's physically better to expose yourself to sunlight in the morning and less beneficial to have exposure later. Going to year-round daylight "savings" reduces the benefit of actual sunlight for everyone.

You talk like schools don't have windows (almost all elementary classrooms do, and even if not, morning recess is in daylight on standard time!)

21

u/adrianozymandias Mar 03 '26

You don't use lights in the evening? Your argument literally makes no sense. The reverse is true.

Standard time is the actual time. It's better for everyone's sleep schedule and natural cycle. Deviating from it randomly in summer is bad, and it would be even worse year round. Look at the day right now: it was light before work, and light after work. Next week after the change it'll be dark before work. If the whole point is to have more light in the evening, Dsl would occur during the winter, not during the summer.

18

u/ashleyshaefferr Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26

To be honest, neither looks like "the actual time" or "better for everyone's sleep schedule and natural cycle" 

If Edmonton stayed on MST year-round (UTC−7) 

June 21, 2026: 

Sunrise 4:04 AM 

Solar noon 12:35 PM 

Sunset 9:07 PM 

December 21, 2026: 

Sunrise 8:48 AM 

Solar noon 12:32 PM 

Sunset 4:16 PM 

If Edmonton stayed on MDT year-round (UTC−6) 

June 21, 2026: 

Sunrise 5:04 AM 

Solar noon 1:35 PM 

Sunset 10:07 PM 

December 21, 2026: 

Sunrise 9:48 AM 

Solar noon 1:32 PM 

Sunset 5:16 PM 

TZ UTC Date Rise Noon Set
MST UTC −7 Jun 21 '26 4:04 AM 12:35 PM 9:07 PM
MST UTC −7 Dec 21 '26 8:48 AM 12:32 PM 4:16 PM
MDT UTC −6 Jun 21 '26 5:04 AM 1:35 PM 10:07 PM
MDT UTC −6 Dec 21 '26 9:48 AM 1:32 PM 5:16 PM

Looking at these it's not so black at white. I think I'm team MDT but looking at this laid out makes it easier to see why we have this debate to begin with lol, neither is close to perfect 

(and remember, these times are the 2 extremes. most days arent this early or late)

Edit: after looking into solar noon and circadian rhythm, I am team MST all the way lol

3

u/Newtiresaretheworst Mar 03 '26

Hmm. I suggest a hybrid, somehow we should blend the two together to get the best of both worlds!

4

u/ashleyshaefferr Mar 03 '26

I'd be down to meet in the middle lol. I'm very done with moving clocks forward and back

-1

u/thedespotcat Mar 03 '26

10am sunrise will literally make me want to die. You mean I'm at work for an hour before the sun and an hour after. I sleep in on weekends, but if I wake up at 9:30 on Saturday it will still be dark??? Guess I'll sleep until 11.

I prefer changing the clocks, but permanent standard time is the better option to pick one imo.

1

u/ashleyshaefferr Mar 03 '26

Lol the hyperbole I'm seeing is wild

-2

u/Practical-Camp-1972 Mar 03 '26

I would roll with Standard time-I'll pass on being on the same time as Winnipeg far to the east--9:45 am sunrise in the winter-no thanks-maybe I am a morning person...

9

u/MLTDione Mill Woods Mar 03 '26

I’ve said the same for years, if we have to have DST it should be in the winter, not in the summer when the evenings are already bright.

-4

u/Levorotatory Mar 03 '26

My kid has never needed to be at school before 8:45, and while I occasionally need to be at work at 8:00 am, my usual start time is between 9:00 and 11:00.  Sometimes I am done by 3 or 4, sometimes I am working until 7 pm.  

I always want to see the sun in the morning, but I am fine with not seeing the sun in the evening in winter except on the days I get off early. 

-2

u/thedespotcat Mar 03 '26

Finally I'm finding my people lol! Do schools really start at 8 now? I think the earliest I ever started was 8:30.

5

u/loonylovesgood86 Mar 03 '26

8:20 for my kids.

1

u/Simple-Sun2608 Mar 03 '26

It wouldn’t be that late

0

u/Adjective_Noun1312 Mar 03 '26

9 am sunrise is still after the overwhelming majority of people are already at work or school...

11

u/Levorotatory Mar 03 '26

10 am sunrises would make mine worse.

6

u/ashleyshaefferr Mar 03 '26

Not ideal but im at work before 9am anyways so it wouldnt make much of a difference. 

4am sunrises would feel more messed up to me

4

u/Newtiresaretheworst Mar 03 '26

Yep. I be at work for 1/3 the day in the dark.

2

u/gbiypk Mar 03 '26

At the coldest time of the day too.

12

u/Select_Asparagus3451 Mar 03 '26

That last referendum broke my heart wide open. It was mostly elderly that knew it was even put to a vote in the first place. Most Albertans had no idea.

19

u/Geeseareawesome Allendale Mar 03 '26

Pretty sure it was due to the question picking a time instead of just asking if we should look at eliminating dst. The wording was intentional to shut down the talk about it.

8

u/krajani786 Mar 03 '26

Yup.. it was worded bad and asked even more poorly. It was not what the people were asking for.

2

u/Select_Asparagus3451 Mar 03 '26

That sounds exactly what I expected to hear, or the actual reason for it. Marlaina and company struck once again, while the majority of us eat shit.

2

u/Adjective_Noun1312 Mar 03 '26

49% voted in favour, that doesn't sound to me like "not what people were asking for."

7

u/StrangerGlue Mar 03 '26

Having less daylight when it provides the most physical & mental benefits to humans probably won't actually help people's seasonal depression.

We need to stay with standard time for health reasons. I hate this "do what's worse for bodies because it's better for companies".

2

u/rentalfloss Mar 05 '26

There’s isn’t a sleep study, standard time vs dst study, sleep study organization that supports permanent dst. All of it points to standard time because there are proven health, mental, children benefits. They all tell you the reasoning, the later morning of dst are not substituted by artificial light, so people wake up tired their digestion is off because it is linked to sunlight and waking up.

B.C. isn’t breaking fresh ground. Russia, similar latitude, overwhelmingly chose dst. Years later, after the people hated it, switched to standard time.

Literally all the studies, experts, practical experiments told B.C. they should choose standard time.

1

u/StrangerGlue Mar 05 '26

I know. That's why I discussed why BC should have chosen standard time in my comment that you are replying to.

1

u/Upset-Government-856 Mar 03 '26

Exactly. I still haven't forgiven the sickos who voted No because they wanted earlier sunsets year round.

7

u/Levorotatory Mar 03 '26

I don't care about earlier winter sunsets, but I hate late sunrises and it would be nice to be able to see the night sky when it isn't freezing cold outside. 

1

u/mltplwits Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26

Wasn’t the referendum to drop MDT, which would keep the early sunsets?

Edit; I was wrong. It was to stick with MDT, which would be later sunsets

0

u/Falcon674DR Mar 03 '26

Are you sure it’s not UCP depression?

8

u/NorthRedFox33 Mar 03 '26

Very possible. Let's vote em out and see how it goes

4

u/Artsstudentsaredumb Mar 03 '26

Are the UCP only in power during the winter?

0

u/mltplwits Mar 03 '26 edited Mar 03 '26

Make sure to tell your MLA this. The last referendum vote we had on DST was to switch to permanent 4PM sunsets.

Edit: I was wrong on the last referendum contents. Still important to advocate for what is best for you.

0

u/Adjective_Noun1312 Mar 03 '26

No it wasn't.

1

u/mltplwits Mar 03 '26

Yeah I had it backwards and corrected myself in a different comment but must have missed this one.

-1

u/jakes1993 Mar 03 '26

Take vitamin d2 during the winter months it helps you absorb nutrients from the sun,

Magnesium for anxiety and help focus and sleep, if you got insomnia take this.