B.C. is ending the time change, and experts warn of potential risks

For the first time in more than a century, B.C. will not turn its clocks back this fall. Experts warn the change could have wide-ranging effects. Vancouver Coastal Health says morning commutes will be darker than usual, potentially discouraging people from walking or cycling to school or work. It recommends wearing bright colours and reflective gear, and making eye contact with drivers. Drivers are advised to slow down and drive to the conditions.

Vancouver Coastal Health also says morning light helps set the body's internal clock and supports healthy sleep patterns. “Humans are dependent on the morning light,” Ralph Mistlberger, a psychology professor at Simon Fraser University, told Global News. He co-authored a report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on the potential dangers of adopting daylight time year-round.

Mistlberger said that moving morning light later also shifts the body clock later. People may find it easier to stay up late and harder to wake early, and may sleep longer, shifting their whole sleep-wake cycle. If their social schedules do not shift too, he said, the result is a misalignment.

Patrick Baylis of the University of British Columbia’s School of Economics said the change will also affect work schedules. As a rule of thumb, the less flexible a person’s work hours are and the closer their start time is to when sunrise would have been, the greater the effect. Someone required to start work at 8 a.m., for example, could be affected significantly: the period when sunrise would have fallen after their start time will extend from a few weeks to a few months.

British Columbians should also expect a time difference with parts of the Pacific Northwest that have historically been on the same time as B.C. After Nov. 1, B.C. will be one hour ahead of Washington State, a difference residents should keep in mind when crossing the border.

Alberta and Manitoba have also announced they are ending clock changes this year. On Wednesday, Quebec’s government announced plans to scrap the time change. Saskatchewan has not changed its time since 1966, while Yukon ended the practice in 2020.