‘No time travel required’: Sask. replacing Time Act after Alta. adopts daylight time year-round

With Alberta now staying on daylight time year-round, Saskatchewan decided it was time to update its own laws.

But while the decision in Alberta means residents will no longer need to change their clocks twice a year, the changes in Saskatchewan are more administrative in nature.

Read more:

• Alberta’s government says it will do away with twice-a-year time change
• ‘Get a gauge’: Alberta’s Smith says first year without time changes will be telling
• N.W.T. to follow Alberta in ditching clock changes, adopting permanent daylight time

According to the Saskatchewan government, when The Time Act was first adopted in 1966, the province was “a patchwork of local time standards.” The act established Central Standard Time as the standard for the province, but gave certain regions – notably Lloydminster, which straddles the Saskatchewan-Alberta border – the freedom to hold local votes to change the time that was observed in their area. As a result, the province said Lloydminster observes Mountain Standard Time in the winter to align with Alberta.

The government said its updated legislation, known as The Time Act, 2026, ensures the law reflects current practices and allows for flexibility when changes are made by neighbouring provinces, while still allowing border communities to establish “time option areas” if they wish to adopt the time used in a neighbouring jurisdiction.

Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers said the situation in his city can be a bit confusing for the uninitiated.

“While our residents have long been used to running on ‘Lloydminster time,’ the differing provincial time zones often prove a little tricky for those visiting our city for work and pleasure,” Aalbers said, quoted in a statement from the provincial government.

“We welcome an updated Time Act that reflects how our border community functions day-to-day. No time travel required.”

Colleen Young, the MLA for Lloydminster, said she’s pleased to support the changes, which align the city with surrounding communities and the rest of the province.

“Straddling the border comes with its own unique set of challenges, eliminating the time changes removes one of them, providing consistency for the constituents of my riding,” Young said in a statement.