Most of western Canada is done with clock changes. We're the ones still doing it.
British Columbia shut down the time change in March. Alberta's bill was given royal assent in May, and they've renamed its time zone "Alberta Time." Yukon stopped in 2020. Saskatchewan never did. The Northwest Territories indicated it is following Alberta. Manitoba is polling its people. Ontario has expressed interest.
All those places leave their clocks right where they are on Sunday, November 1. We set ours back an hour. So from November until March, Vancouver runs an hour ahead of Seattle, then we line back up for the summer. Back and forth. Twice a year. Forever. If you cross the border, run anything on either side of it, or have family up there, you get to relearn it every spring and fall. Point Roberts feels it worst, with the only way out running through B.C.
Why can't we?
We have already tried. Washington chose to halt the clock change in 2019. Substitute House Bill 1196 passed the state house 90 to 6. The state senate 46 to 2. The governor signed it. It's never been implemented, because our statute only goes into effect if Congress first approves permanent daylight time.
Seven years later they haven't. Congress just went on recess again. The House passed it 308 to 117 in July. The Senate never took it up, and its own version has sat in committee since January 2025 without a vote.
Meanwhile, four separate bills have been introduced in Olympia to fix this at the state level. 2022. 2024. 2025. 2026. Not one of them has ever reached a floor vote.
The part most people don't know
Washington doesn't truly need Congress to stop changing clocks. Federal law has always allowed a state to step off the switch. Arizona and Hawaii have been doing it for decades. See our FAQ for more on how that authority works.
British Columbia did this in one legislative session. Alberta was about three weeks. We have waited seven years for authorization. It's time to fix it ourselves.
You can help in two minutes: sign up, and send this to one person who's tired of the clock change.
We're asking the Legislature to take up the Last Fall Back Act in January. Whether they do depends on us. If you have another minute, tell your legislator you want a vote on it.