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On Nov. 1, when N.W.T. residents would normally turn back their clocks by one hour, no change will occur.
In a news release Wednesday, the territory announced seasonal time changes will end on Nov. 1, following an announcement earlier this year that the N.W.T. would move to one consistent time zone.
“I am one person who is really happy that it’s done with,” said Tanya Gruben, who lives and works in Inuvik. “It really disrupted my sleep.”
The change also means parents won’t make the same mistake Gruben made decades ago, when — three times in a row — she dropped her child off for school an hour early after the time change happened.
“I get to work and there’s nobody there! I go back to pick him up and he’s the only one in the playground,” she recalled with a laugh.
“Those mornings, we went for breakfast at the hotel, just because I got up so darn early.
“So there’ll be no more of that, because there’s no more Daylight Savings Time — which I’m really happy about.”
The change keeps the Northwest Territories’ time in line with Alberta, which officially moved to keep the province on year-round daylight time in June. Alberta’s change also comes into effect Nov. 1.
According to public feedback, over 87 per cent of respondents to a survey from the territorial government expressed support for maintaining one time zone.
The change provides greater consistency, Premier R.J. Simpson is quoted as saying in Wednesday’s news release.
Audrey Deshaies, a senior communications officer with the Department of Justice, said Wednesday that the territory ultimately opted to stay on daylight savings time year-round due to public feedback.
Deshaies pointed to public engagement the territory did in 2022.
“We really listened to the residents on this one,” she said.
As for the work involved in cementing the shift, she said the territory had to reach out to technology providers and organizations such as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, which manages assigned time zones on the internet.
“It’s a lot of work,” she said.
The new Northwest Territories Time, as the territory is calling it, brings the N.W.T. permanently one hour ahead of Yukon and only one hour behind Iqaluit over the winter. Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region, historically on Mountain Time with the N.W.T., will now be one hour behind the Northwest Territories over the winter, and continue to be on the same time over the summer.