VICTORIA, B.C. (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Our neighbors in the Great White North will be on a slightly different time than us later this year.

Leaders in British Columbia announced the province will be moving to permanent Daylight Savings Time starting with the final jump forward this Sunday, March 8.

In a press conference on Monday, March 2, Premier David Eby explained how the change will occur to a crowd of seated children.

“When we change our clocks twice a year, it creates all kinds of problems,” Eby said. “Kids get up at the same time even though the clocks’ change. Dogs get up at the same time even though the clocks’ changed. Parents lose sleep. Kids lose sleep. And even people without kids or parents, they’re losing an hour of sleep and they’re getting less sleep and so what we see is more car accidents, and people not feeling well.”

According to Eby, this change was a long time coming as the province had polled residents in 2019 and the vast majority wanted one time year-round. That same year, the province as well as Washington passed acts that would let the regions transition to permanent DST. 

But implementing the change was delayed after Western U.S. states couldn’t change to DST year-round without an act of Congress.

As Daylight Savings begins on Sunday, Washington won’t see any issues crossing the border until Nov. 1, when Washington and other states move back an hour and B.C. does not.