Manitoba Follows PC Lead on Setting Permanent Daylight Savings After Initial Refusal by Kinew, NDP
WINNIPEG — After a years-long push by Progressive Conservatives, Manitoba is moving forward on implementing permanent Daylight Saving Time (DST). This comes only months after Premier Wab Kinew rebuffed the idea entirely.
In 2023, the then-PC government passed legislation to end the outdated and disruptive practice of seasonal time changes. That legislation would come into force by way of proclamation.
After the new NDP government failed to proclaim the PC legislation, Springfield-Ritchot MLA Ron Schuler introduced a Private Member’s Bill last year to mandate the provincial government to move to permanent daylight time effective Mar. 8, 2026. After that bill was killed by the NDP, Schuler reintroduced it this spring to discontinue seasonal time changes as of Mar. 14, 2027. Bill 214, the Official Time Amendment Act, must pass by the end of the current session in November.
When asked this March if he would support the bill, Premier Wab Kinew told media that he had more important things to do, stating, “[W]e only have so many hours in a day, and we’re going to spend those hours on health care and lowering your cost of living.”
A week later, after seeing major public support behind PCs’ bill, Kinew suddenly found time and government resources to consider the idea.
“Manitobans are tired of losing an hour of sleep and gaining nothing in return,” said Schuler. “While the government news release today was vague about how this change will take effect, PCs have already established the legislation for the NDP to make the proclamation. Whether it be by proclaiming our legislation or by passing our Bill 214, I’m glad that seasonal time changes will finally come to an end thanks to the actions taken by PCs.”
With the change, Manitoba will follow the rest of Western Canada. British Columbia “sprang forward” for the last time this year (UTC-7:00), Saskatchewan already observes a year-round daylight time (UTC-6:00), Alberta recently adopted a permanent daylight time (UTC-6:00), followed by the Northwest Territories (UTC-6:00), and the Yukon adopted a year-round standard (UTC-7:00) six years ago.
“Manitoba could have already been a leader in Western Canada for ending seasonal time changes had the NDP put their politics aside. Now that we’re lagging behind every other western province and territory, I hope that the government will finally decide to work together.”
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