Washington State and Vancouver B.C. Split Time Zones This Sunday

On Sunday, November 1st, Washingtonians will set their clocks back an hour for Daylight Saving Time and this will officially make us one hour behind our Canadian neighbors in Vancouver B.C. That is because they are no longer doing a time change.

This means that the next time we venture over to Canada on a plane/sea plane, Amtrak, at the Peace Arch Border, Sumas, or the Port of Entry to visit Vancouver***, we'll gain an hour during the fall and winter months.

US Canada Border Crossing in Lynden WA. Photo: Google Street View

When Vancouver Stopped Turning Back the Clock

Because I typically don't keep up with Canadian news and I've never traveled to B.C., I didn't know that back in March of this year Vancouver's new law went into effect making their current time zone permanent.

Researchers at Stanford University say that most Americans would be healthier without DST. I would agree with that because I hate losing an hour of sleep and losing an hour of daylight in the evenings.

Public Reaction to the New Canadian Time Difference

GamesCatsComics, a Canadian on Reddit, expressed their feelings about it this way:

Comment
by
u/Nothingman604 from discussion
in
vancouvercanada

Another commenter named PotatoMash_ is relieved to not have to keep changing their clocks.

Comment by u/harlotstoast from discussion in britishcolumbia

How Do Washingtonians Feel About Daylight Saving Time?

I wish that we didn't have to switch back and forth an hour for Daylight Saving Time and I'm not alone. We got a law passed in 2019 to stop the time switching here in Washington State, but the U.S. Congress keeps refusing to give its stamp of approval. Boo, tomato, boo, tomato!

A user named Enkiktd said it perfectly:

Comment
by
u/seattletimesnewsroom from discussion
in
Washington

I'll keep moving my clocks back and forth, but I can't wait for the day when Washington gets to keep Pacific Standard Time permanent!

You can check on wait times at the border via the WSDOT wait time tracker in real time.

***The British Columbia province is split into three regions however, so the northeastern and southeastern parts will stay in the Mountain Standard Time zone (MST).