Ontario, Manitoba on DST bandwagon

The U.S. decided to change the daylight savings time rules beginning in 2007, adding 3 weeks in the spring and an extra week in the fall, starting in 2007. So the scramble now is whether Canada will do the same.

DST affects Canadians a bit differently, being closer to the North Pole. Then there's the whole "do we want to follow the U.S." mentality. But not moving will only mess up commerce and likely suffer embarrassment.

Ontario announced yesterday it will become the first province to synchronize with the United States. "Making this change will allow us to maintain Ontario's competitive advantage by coordinating the time change with Ontario's biggest trading partner," Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant told the press, adding that the change "will improve the lives of Ontarians."

Manitoba followed later that day in Ontario's footsteps by also adopting extended daylight hours. It's important for trucking and other industries to keep the same time as other jurisdictions, Manitoba Premier Gary Doer told the press.

According to reports earlier this week, Quebec may soon follow. Officials in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and British Columbia have also said they will seriously consider making the change.

Saskatchewan is the lone province that does not shift its clocks, joining Hawaii and Arizona in the U.S. Indiana is in the process of shifting over to DST. Most of that state had not shifted, though pockets near major cities (Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville) did shift.

The move puts the switches in 2007 at the second Saturday in March and the first Sunday in November.