Clocks will soon go back in Ontario and one politician hopes it's for the last time
Daylight saving time for 2021 is about to end and Ontarians will have to turn their clocks back—but one politician is hopeful it could be for the last time.
Nearly one year ago, Ontario passed legislation that would end the bi-annual changing of the clock, making daylight time permanent in the province. This means that residents will be able to experience more sunlight in the winter evenings, but it would remain dark in the mornings until nearly 9 a.m. in December.
But there was one big catch. The legislation only comes into effect if Quebec and New York agree to do the same.
"We're getting closer," Jeremy Roberts, MPP for Ottawa West – Nepean, told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday. "I don't think I'll be able to get anything done in time for this year's fall back, but maybe in time for Spring-forward next year."
He said he's seeing "promising signs" that Quebec would be open to moving to permanent daylight saving time.
"Premier François Legault was asked about this in a press conference and he said he was open to the idea," Roberts said. "So we're continuing to push on that."
In terms of New York, Roberts said he's having less success with the idea and admits the state will be the biggest barrier to Ontario ending the time change practice.
"We haven't heard from the New York governor," Roberts said. "But we understand there is actually a state senator in New York who has put forward a piece of legislation that would bring New York into permanent daylight saving time."
WHEN DOES DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME END?
The time will change in Ontario at 2 a.m. on Nov. 7, marking the end of daylight saving time and bringing in darker evenings.
When daylight saving ends, the sun will set in Toronto at 4:59 p.m.
Roberts said he had always disliked having to change the clocks twice a year and it leaves him feeling sleepy in the days after.
According to experts, some people will experience a shock to their bodies' internal clock when the time changes, much like the jet lag experienced after flying across time zones.
Research shows that the disruption to the internal clock can cause increased rates of heart attacks, stroke, weight gain, anxiety and contribute to workplace injuries and car accidents.
Roberts added that one of the benefits of ending the twice-yearly change includes promoting more consumerism by giving residents more hours of daylight in the evening.
Daylight saving time started in Ontario in 1918.
On Tuesday, the results of Alberta's referendum on year-round daylight time were released and a tiny majority of Albertans voted against the province adopting it.
Less than 3,000 votes separated the 'yes' and 'no' camps, results released Tuesday morning show. Across the province, 50.2 per cent of voters voted ‘no,’ while 49.8 per cent voted yes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.