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Talk:Daylight saving time in Canada

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Yukon change

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Yukon abolishes DST: https://yukon.ca/en/news/yukon-end-seasonal-time-change — Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.84.24.164 (talk) 11:19, 5 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I've updated the article to reflect. Walter Görlitz (talk) 19:59, 5 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

63°W

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In 1969 the Quebec government updated its Legal Time Act such that the time zone boundary moved from 68°W to 63°W. In spite of the legislation, residents as far east of the Natashquan River (which lies about 100km east of the 63rd meridian) have traditionally observed Eastern Time with DST; it is not clear when this practice started.
In 2006, the Time Act was updated to match all the traditionally observed practices in all parts of the province. The Act came into force on January 1, 2007. However, the wording in the 2006 Time Act is slightly convoluted. The act retained its reference to 63°W but made an exception for Minganie RCM (Regional County Municipality). Minganie RCM straddles the entire part of the 63rd meridian that passes through Quebec. This meant that even though 63°W was used in the definition of the boundary, the official boundary itself was no longer contiguous with 63°W.
This is a copy of the 2006 Time Act:

1. In the part of Québec lying west of the meridian of 63 degrees West longitude, the legal time is Eastern Standard Time, that is, five hours behind coordinated universal time (UTC − 5 h).

However, from the second Sunday in March at 2:00 a.m. to the first Sunday in November at 2:00 a.m., the legal time in that part of Québec is Eastern Daylight Saving Time, that is, four hours behind coordinated universal time (UTC − 4 h). This section also applies to all of the territory of Municipalité régionale de comté de Minganie.

2. In the part of Québec lying east of the meridian of 63 degrees West longitude, and in the territory of the Listuguj reserve, the legal time is Atlantic Standard Time, that is, four hours behind coordinated universal time (UTC − 4 h).

However, from the second Sunday in March at 2:00 a.m. to the first Sunday in November at 2:00 a.m., the legal time in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine and in the territory of the Listuguj reserve is Atlantic Daylight Saving Time, that is, three hours behind coordinated universal time (UTC − 3 h).

Adoption of the 2006 Time Act meant the following:

  1. DST start and end dates were adjusted in coordination with the rest of Canada and the USA.
  2. Basse-Côte-Nord, being entirely east of 63°W, continued to observe Atlantic Standard Time without DST as it had done previously.
  3. Anticosti Island, being part of Minganie RCM, was placed entirely on Eastern Time with DST.
  4. Petit-Mécatina, which at the time was part of Minganie RCM, became officially subject to Eastern Time with DST. Presumably nobody cared because the population of Petit-Mécatina has always been exactly zero.

At some point in 2007, the government created a time zone map and web page to explain the situation: [1]
However, the situation changed in 2010 with the formation of Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent RCM.

  1. Petit Mectania (still with a population of zero) was severed from Minganie RCM. Petit-Mécatina was then merged with Basse-Côte-Nord to form the brand new RCM named Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent.
  2. Mingane RCM, even though reduced in size, still straddled the 63rd meridian and continued to observe Eastern Time with DST.
  3. For better or for worse, the 2006 Time Act was not updated or amended.
  4. The government did not bother to update its time zone map.

A reasonable interpretation of the 2006 Time Act will conclude that as soon as Petit-Mécatina was severed from Minganie it immediately became subject to Atlantic Standard Time (with no DST). It also makes sense that the entire Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent RCM should officially share a common time zone. Thus the current status of time in Quebec, unchanged since 2010, can be described as follows:

  1. All parts of Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent RCM observe (or are subject to) Atlantic Standard Time year round. This is because the entire RCM lies east of 63°W and is not subject to the special exceptions given to Minganie RCM.
  2. Listuguj Reserve observes Eastern Time with DST as explicitly stated in the Time Act.
  3. Îles de la Madeleine observe Atlantic Time with DST as explicitly stated in the Time Act.
  4. All other parts of Quebec observe Eastern Time with DST.

Notes:

  1. For all practical purposes, the Natashquan River forms the mainland boundary between Minganie and Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent RCM. Thus it can be claimed that the river also defines the time zone boundary. However this definition only works if the Quebec/Labrador border is assumed to be at 52°N; Quebec maps usually show the Quebec/Labrador border running along the watershed boundary which lies north of the Natashquan River's headwaters.
  2. If you come across a map that shows a time zone boundary at 63°W it is either an old map or it is plain wrong.

MapGrid (talk) 04:44, 3 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I just replaced the Quebec section of the page. However, if somebody wants to reword or add more details I won't be offended!MapGrid (talk) 04:57, 3 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]
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