Gastown Steam Clock (Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons)
At 2:00am on Sunday, November 6th, most clocks in British Columbia fall back an hour. With it come the biannual headaches: remembering when it actually takes place, reminding yourself it’s “spring forward” and “fall back”, and the joy of identifying how to set the time on your various appliances around the house. At least we are gaining an hour of sleep, or going home an hour early if you work the night shift.
All of British Columbia may soon join its northern neighbour, Yukon, in a permanent year-round time. Yukon made the change back in 2020. B.C. has been considering the change for several years but is waiting for Washington sate, Oregon, and California to do the same. Currently B.C. is divided into PST/PDT, MST/MDT, and a year-round MST.
Time Zones in Canada (MapGrid / Wikimedia Commons)
Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate passed a bill which would implement a permanent time starting in 2023; however, the bill still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives before taking affect. Should that occur, this will be the final year British Columbians “fall back.”