Western Canada skips fall back; businesses brace for week

Canadians in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, northwestern Ontario and the Northwest Territories woke up Sunday to a new time zone map after those regions stayed on daylight time year-round instead of turning clocks back an hour, The Canadian Press reported.

Saskatchewan already doesn’t adjust its clocks, so the change leaves most of Western Canada on a single, permanent schedule.

At a recreation centre in south Edmonton on Sunday, some parents said not adjusting their children’s sleep schedules felt refreshing. Jenn Irwin-Greer, who runs an Edmonton dayhome, said the twice-yearly change has meant irritable children and disrupted nap times. She said she hopes this year will be easier.

Not everyone is as relaxed. Jordan Janovcik, a Calgary hairstylist, said he spent the summer repeatedly confirming with clients that Alberta was not falling back. He said missed appointments or delays could mean lost time and money, and that he is worried about the work week ahead.

Technology experts have warned the change could cause problems for scheduling systems and older computer software. Some Canadians reported online Sunday that their phones displayed the wrong time.

Telus said the problem is tied to how some phones update their time zone information, not to its network. It told customers to check that “set time zone automatically” is selected in their phone settings and to restart the device to apply any available updates. A Rogers spokesperson said the company had no network issues and pointed to an industry group’s instructions for updating phones and tablets.

Air Canada said its operations were normal on Sunday. The airline said all flights use an internationally recognized time standard and that time changes are managed through established industry data sources.

Manitoba had told residents ahead of the weekend that clocks would not change as the province moves to permanent daylight saving time. Our earlier guide shows where clocks went back in Canada, and Quebec’s government has said it plans to end the time change as well.

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Source: The Canadian Press, via Global News.