British Columbia is leaving Washington state in the past this fall. Literally.
The Canadian province will stay one hour in the future come November after adopting year-round daylight saving time beginning Sunday.
The clock will spring forward north of the border March 8, the same as in Washington state, but won’t fall back again in November.
The province's Interpretation Amendment Act became law in 2019 and gave British Columbia the ability to adopt the time change. But the government chose not to enact it because they wanted to coordinate timing with neighboring U.S. states in the same time zone, the provincial government said in a news release.
“Recent actions from the U.S. have shifted how B.C. approaches decisions that merit alignment, including on time zones,” the government said.
Besides the palpable cross-border tension over President Donald Trump’s tariff-fueled trade dispute with Canada, Washington state has also not gotten on the same page as British Columbia when it comes to daylight saving.
State lawmakers made an effort to adopt permanent daylight saving time in 2019, the same year as British Columbia, but it is stuck in a yearslong wait in Congress even after then-Gov. Jay Inslee signed it.
The lawmakers' bill can't go into effect unless Congress passes legislation allowing states like Washington to adapt permanent daylight saving time.
So, British Columbia is going ahead with the change without us.
The provincial government said year-round daylight saving time will improve people’s overall health, reduce sleep pattern disruptions for families, simplify scheduling for businesses and service providers, and give British Columbians an extra hour of daylight in the winter months.
A 2019 survey found that 93% of British Columbians who participated supported adopting year-round daylight saving time.
The new time zone, dubbed Pacific Time, will be the new reality come November. So if you want to time travel to a land with an extra hour of sunlight in the evening, give our northerly neighbors a visit.
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