Albertans prefer standard time over permanent daylight time: survey
Posted November 12, 2026 10:43 am.
Last Updated November 12, 2026 11:30 am.
If you feel like the morning sun is taking too long to light up your surroundings nowadays, you’re not alone.
A new survey finds Albertans would prefer a change to permanent standard time, instead of permanent daylight saving time, which the province adopted earlier this year.
The survey also found nearly a third of respondents in three provinces that made the change have struggled with dark mornings.
However, most respondents say they’re in favour of stopping the practice of moving the clock back and forth twice a year.
According to the Angus Reid Institute, 41 percent of Albertans say they would have preferred standard time and more sun in the morning, while 31 percent favour daylight saving time, and 21 percent want to keep the time change.
“Majorities in B.C. (55%) and Manitoba (59%), and a plurality in Alberta (46%), believe it was a good decision to stop the practice of semi-annual clock changes,” an institute summary states.
However, the number of Albertans who prefer the new system of permanent daylight saving time has declined since March by 14 points to 33 per cent.
The polling agency says challenges or annoyances experienced since last Sunday, when clocks would normally have fallen back, may be a factor, with 65 per cent of Albertans noting concerns.
The most common issue was devices not properly adjusting during the initial days of the change this month.
Those who prefer the old system of changing clocks twice a year have increased in all three provinces compared with eight months ago.
After announcing the province’s cancellation of the time change, Premier Danielle Smith urged Albertans to try in for a year, and if they still didn’t approve of it, the government could hold a vote on whether to switch back.
With files from the Canadian Press
