Time in Saskatchewan

The Province of Saskatchewan observes Central Standard Time but, since it is geographically located in the Mountain Time Zone, is effectively on daylight saving time year round.

History

In 1912, the first law was passed that called for the use of standard time. This law left the choice of time zone up to the municipal government. The result was a patchwork of towns following either of the two neighbouring time zones (Mountain Standard Time or Central Standard Time) with or without daylight saving time.Fact|date=March 2008

During World War I and World War II, all municipalities were forced to adopt daylight saving time to save on fuel, but were not forced to adopt the same time zone.Fact|date=March 2008

In 1966, the Saskatchewan Provincial Government sought the help of a professional astronomer living in the province. The Milton Study (Earl R.V. Milton - A submission to the Government of Saskatchewan regarding Time Zones in Saskatchewan, 1966) a) concluded that Saskatchewan is in the Mountain Standard Time Zone,Fact|date=March 2008 and b) suggested that the three prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) covered too much area to share a single time zone.Fact|date=March 2008

In 1966, based on the Milton Study, the Saskatchewan Government passed Chapter 85, to be known as the Time Act, 1966 (Statutes of Saskatchewan, 1966). The key points of this act were:
*The eastern part of Saskatchewan will permanently be one hour ahead of Mountain Standard Time (the equivalent of Mountain Daylight Time or Central Standard Time).
*In the western part of Saskatchewan, municipal governments will still be able to choose what time zone to follow.

The only city that chose not to match the rest of Saskatchewan's time zone was the city of Lloydminster (partly in Saskatchewan, and partly in Alberta). Lloydminster chose to follow the Alberta side with a combination of Mountain Standard Time and Mountain Daylight Time zones. This may be because the Alberta side of the city did not have a choice of time zone. Swift Current and surrounding communities observed the same time as Lloydminster until April 30, 1972 when they changed to match the rest of the province.

Saskatchewan Time Zone

"Saskatchewan" is often a drop-down option for "time zone" in computer programs, as an exception to the typical use of daylight saving time in North America.

The current wording of the Time Act says that during the entire year Saskatchewan observes "central standard time", which is defined to be "the time that is six hours behind
Greenwich time". Which translates into Saskatchewan effectively being on DST year round. cite web |title= The Time Act: being Chapter T-14 of The Revised Statutes of Saskatchewan, 1978 (effective February 26, 1978) as amended by the Statutes of Saskatchewan, 1979–80, c.M-32.01, 45 and 92; 1983, c.11, 27 and 77; 1983–84, c.49 and 54; 1986–87–88, c.35; 1989–90, c.54; 1990–91, c.28; 1996, c.E-6.01 and 32; and 2005, c.M-36.1 |url=http://www.qp.gov.sk.ca/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/T14.pdf |format=PDF |date=2005 |accessdate=2008-01-09 |quote= Central standard time shall be used and observed throughout the year….] In the map above, Saskatchewan is the rectangle of Central Standard Time protruding into Mountain Standard Time in Canada, visually displaying that geographically, Saskatchewan is in the Mountain Time zone.

See also

* Time in Canada

References

*Earl R.V. Milton - A submission to the Government of Saskatchewan regarding Time Zones in Saskatchewan, 1966
*cite web|author=Ben Noto|title=Daylight saving time is a dead debate|url=http://blog.tooreal.net/articles/dst/|publisher=Too Real|date=2006-12-14|accessdate=2007-04-15
* [http://www.municipal.gov.sk.ca/publications/pdf/policy/timesys.pdf The Saskatchewan Time System] (PDF) from Saskatchewan Government Relations