Permanent daylight time coming to Alberta, raising safety and tourism concerns

Banff Sunshine Village opened for the 2022-23 season on Nov. 3. (image: Sunshine Village)

Alberta’s plan to move to permanent daylight time this fall is drawing concerns from parts of the province’s tourism industry who say the shift will reduce critical morning daylight during peak winter operations.

Kendra Scurfield of Banff’s Sunshine Village said the change would directly affect when ski hills can safely open.

“It would force us to open later in the day, so we would not be able to safely open at our regular scheduled time at 9 a.m.,” Scurfield said.

“We’re very concerned about the branding and the reputation that Alberta will receive from this move.”

Scurfield said later daylight in the afternoon would not offset the loss, noting skiers typically don’t want to ski into the evening.

“When we do extend our hours, the average skier is off the hill around 3pm,” she said. “This move to … permanent daylight time would shorten the usable window of ski hours for our guests.”

The province has said it consulted with industries, including airlines, sports teams and ski hills before making the decision.

But Scurfield said operators were not included.

“Monday was our first knowledge of the government’s decision to move (to permanent daylight time),” she said. “When we reached out to the government to make our voices heard, we were met with comments that… seem… they seem frivolous,” she said.

Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally acknowledged concerns from sports organizations, including the potential for later start times for NHL games, but downplayed the impact.

“You can drop that puck at 10 o’clock and I’m not missing the game,” Nally said. “I think there’s a lot of Albertans that feel that way.”

Though the switch would push some events back by an hour, some say Alberta’s switch to permanent daylight time will make it easier to stay in alignment with neighbouring provinces.

Calgary-based airline WestJet told CTV News that it supports the move to daylight time, saying it previously held concerns “by the potential for Alberta to move out of sync with neighbouring jurisdictions.”

“A fixed time zone is practical and would help maintain our western Canada schedule and avoid the need to retime flights, give the high frequency service between Alberta and B.C.,” a WestJet spokesperson said in a statement.

Worries about darker mornings for kids

The shift will also mean significantly darker mornings in winter. Under permanent daylight time, sunrise in December would be pushed to after 9:30 a.m., meaning children would be travelling to school in the dark for much of the season.

Michelle Noble with the Alberta Motor Association said that will require increased vigilance from both drivers and pedestrians.

“Kids will be going to school more frequently while it’s dark in the morning,” Noble said. “We should really take care of our kids’ visibility.”

She said drivers should slow down in school and playground zones and watch carefully for children at crossings, while pedestrians should make eye contact with drivers before crossing.

“We want to make sure that drivers are paying extra close attention, watching for kids at the crosswalk making eye contact on both sides,” Noble said.

Premier Danielle Smith said the idea of adopting permanent daylight time resurfaced after a call to her radio show, framing the change as an opportunity for Albertans to experience it firsthand.

“They said, why not live it? People don’t really know what it’s going to be until they live it,” Smith said. “This is our opportunity.”

The change comes despite a 2021 referendum in which Albertans voted against adopting year-round daylight time.