We just witnessed our neighbor to the west, British Columbia by name, fall for the psy-op of "Ditching DST" only to find out that ditching meant embracing / adopting / enforcing a mis-alignment with the sun's cycle and our natural-born biorhythms.
In a future post, I will detail the decade of trying to maneuver Albertans into permanent DST, but for this post, I reproduce an email I sent this day to the Alberta powers who have hinted that permanent DST might be mandated in the near future.
SO, PLEASE, concerned, freedom-loving, science-minded, fellow Albertans, if you want Alberta to truly ditch both DST and flip-flop DST; if you want permanent Mountain Standard Time; if you think morning light is important, etc. etc., PLEASE flood the Alberta powers with your opinion and desires for Mountain Standard Time (UTC-07.00) year-round. Tell them you want the voice of the people to be heard, through referendum if necessary, without manipulating the choice or question to achieve a desired DST result. Send emails or letters to the Premier, to her Executive Council (EC), and to your MLA. Email addresses for the EC can be found at the bottom of this post. For your MLA, go to the link here and click on their name for full contact information.
Copy of the email sent to Premier Danielle Smith and her 26-member Alberta Executive Council
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Thursday, April 16, 2026 - 10:24 AM MDT; 9:24 AM MST
Subject: Please listen to the science* and the people's voice about DST
Greetings Premier Smith, and Members of the Executive Council:
As you travel the province, please ask clearly, without ulterior motive or agenda pitch: How many here present want:
_____ permanent Mountain Standard Time year-round?If permanent Mountain Standard Time had been offered in the 2021 referendum, this controversy would have been laid to rest 5 years ago, but no, the government offered only the last two options: permanent DST or flip-flop DST.
_____ permanent Daylight Savings Time (being Central Standard Time) year-round?
_____ 8-month MDST with March spring-ahead and November fall-back?
I complained about the manipulated 2019 survey(1) that preceded the 2021 referendum and now, we are again seeing some of the same deliberate obfuscation:
B.C. Ditching Daylight Saving Time – Should the Rest of Canada Follow? | The Social(2)The truth is: B.C. is NOT ditching DST. It’s ditching the flip-flop by going permanent DST— the same as adopting our Mountain Standard Time (UTC-07.00), but calling it "Pacific Time"). In the above video the audience applauds the “ditching of DST time changes” only to howl in protest when the host says (without a shred of awareness of the deception) that BC was adopting permanent DST, NOT ditching it.
The same obfuscation was tried in NDP Alberta in 2017 when a private members bill proposed that permanent DST be called “Alberta Standard Time.” People were utterly bamboozled, including the press(3). Many thought it was a bill to "ditch DST." It was the opposite.
Please don’t perpetuate confusion by saying or implying “ditching DST” or “abandoning DST” which most everyone interprets as returning to the permanent Mountain Standard Time they want, when what is meant is permanent Mountain DST, being the same as Central Time (UTC-06.00) which Saskatchewan did in 1966 (going permanent DST by switching to Central Standard Time from Mountain Standard Time).
Honestly ask yourselves: How many Albertans want:
• to ignore the science of sleep and of documented mental and physical health issues around mis-aligning biorhythms with sun cycles(4)?Please rank the well-being of humans (especially children and families) far above corporate or business interests, evening sports enthusiasts, or individual preferences. Why deliberately mis-align our human physiology with our environment?
• to pretend that morning light is not critical to mood, alertness, performance patience, etc.(5) especially for children?
• to pretend that the failed, abandoned permanent DST experiments in Russia, Africa, and dozens of other places(6) have nothing to teach us about sticking with the sun’s cycle?
• to pretend that world time zones don’t already require constant adjustment for travel, business, stock markets, flights, etc., etc.?
• to ignore the significant disruption to children’s bedtime schedules with extended evening light?
• to get kids on the bus or walking to school in the deeper dark of winter mornings?
• to roust sleeping infants an hour early to get them to the sitter or daycare?
• to do morning exercise runs in the deeper darkness of winter?
• to pretend there is any savings of energy when winter furnaces, lights, appliances, etc., etc. have to be turned on an hour early in homes and offices for DST timing?
• to pretend that the needs of Alberta Northern cities and industries are comparable to BC border cities?
• to pretend that we ever were asked or consented to the expansion of DST timing from April to March and October to November?
Please keep Alberta strong and free of more government manipulation like DST.
Please conduct an honest survey or make this a matter of referendum with the three options above.
Sincerely,
SMSmith
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DST in Canada: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time_in_Canada
* See footnote 4 re Health Science
1. Email sent November-25-2019 12:36 PM MST
To: Service Alberta Minister Glubish
[He forwarded it to his Policy Advisor: Andrew Koning]
Portion of OPEN LETTER to Service Alberta Minister Mr. Nate Glubish:
"I wish to register my STRONG objection to the manipulative, deceptive strategy this government is using to subvert public awareness of the true question and input on the issue of DST.
"1. Your Nov. 19 news release states: “Albertans are invited to share their thoughts on whether the province should continue to observe daylight saving time” and that Albertans can visit the survey website “to share their opinions,” BUT there is no space on the survey to share anything but a yes or no to some form of DST.
"2. The news releases are so scripted that even newscasters reported that Albertans were being surveyed on scrapping DST when THE TRUTH IS the only survey choice is between permanent DST and flip-flop DST. ..."
2. The Social CTV - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j-cLD-4zqA
3. “[PMB] Bill 203 proposes that if passed, as of November 2018 the Daylight Saving Time Act would be repealed and Alberta would remain on Alberta standard time. Now, Alberta standard time is defined as being six hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and would be the equivalent of Mountain Daylight Time, the same time we are currently on this summer.”
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://docs.assembly.ab.ca/LADDAR_files/docs/committees/ef/legislature_29/session_3/20170914_1800_01_ef.pdf
• Thousands of Albertans want lights out on daylight saving time, survey says: If it passes, Bill 203 would replace daylight saving time with Alberta standard time [which equals Mountain Daylight Time which equals Central Standard Time].
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/thousands-of-albertans-want-lights-out-on-daylight-saving-time-survey-says-1.4240446 | Posted: Aug 09, 2017
• Thousands of Albertans want to get rid of Daylight Saving Time
https://globalnews.ca/news/3658499/thousands-of-albertans-want-to-get-rid-of-daylight-saving-time/ | Global News | Posted August 9, 2017
Edmonton MLA launches consultations on ending daylight saving time
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/daylight-saving-time-alberta-dang-mla-1.3980753 | CBC News · Posted: Feb 13, 2017
• Alberta government officially scraps bill that would get rid of Daylight Saving Time
https://globalnews.ca/news/3833827/alberta-government-officially-scraps-bill-that-would-get-rid-of-daylight-saving-time/ | Posted October 30, 2017
• Survey results show majority of respondents want Daylight Saving Time abolished in Alberta
https://www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/article/survey-results-show-majority-of-respondents-want-daylight-saving-time-abolished-in-alberta/ | Published: | August 09, 2017
• Committee scraps bill to create Alberta-only time zone [ CST]
https://globalnews.ca/news/3755594/committee-scraps-bill-to-create-alberta-only-time-zone/ | Posted September 19, 2017
“In a unanimous vote, the standing committee on Alberta’s economic future scrapped Bill 203, a private member’s bill which proposed to keep the province on mountain daylight time year-round. The move would have seen Alberta one hour ahead of British Columbia in the summer while being two hours ahead in the winter. Alberta and Saskatchewan would have been on the same time year-round.” • Legislative Assembly of Alberta The 29th Legislature Third Session Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future Bill 203, Alberta Standard Time Act Subcommittee Public Input Meeting in Calgary Thursday, September 14, 2017 6 p.m. Transcript No. 29-3-23 at chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://docs.assembly.ab.ca/LADDAR_files/docs/committees/ef/legislature_29/session_3/20170914_1800_01_ef.pdf
“Mr. Veldman: ... First of all, clarity on the bill. I took a quick poll in my office this morning. In one room of seven people nobody knew what the proposed time change was. To use terms like “Alberta standard time” is very confusing because we think of standard time as standard time without the daylight saving time. That’s a detail you can remedy. Six hours behind Coordinated Universal Time, UTC-6, doesn’t mean anything to anybody. You could easily say that it’s daylight saving time year-round because that’s the present proposal. I think you need to clarify that if there was a vote down the road, if people are voting on the present proposal versus – there are really three options.” (EF-959)
4. HEALTH
• Daylight saving time: Alberta biological rhythm expert raises alarm over proposed permanent switch | https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/biological-rhythm-expert-raises-alarms-over-proposed-switch-to-permanent-daylight-savings-time | Published Nov 24, 2019
• Alberta’s attempt to end Daylight Savings Time & Canada’s history with the introduction of DST | https://ahlstromwright.ca/albertas-attempt-to-end-daylight-savings-time-canadas-history-with-the-introduction-of-dst/ | March 15, 2019
• https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/bc-daylight-saving-health-concerns-9.7114947
“'Scientifically not a good idea,' says researcher whose work informed B.C.'s daylight-time decision ...
“Permanent daylight time likely to result in sleep deprivation, negative health outcomes, experts say. ...
“Zeitzer said modelling by his team in the U.S. linked an out-of-sync circadian cycle to a range of poor health outcomes. ...
• The case for getting rid of daylight-saving time
Business Insider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR6il9otpqM
• Why Experts Say Permanent Daylight Saving Time is Unhealthy
NOVA PBS Official - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdT-77HYczs
• Ditch daylight saving: Time for permanent standard time
Dr. Yishan Xu | Deep into Sleep Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4nDblY_3dY
• Sleep expert warns of health risks from B.C. permanently adopting Daylight Saving time
CityNews - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxW7n8uCAWA
• Why Permanently Saving Daylight Hours Would Be a TERRIBLE Idea
Dr. Amanpreet Singh, DDS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlOn0Fkq_8U&t=294s
• Daylight Savings Time
MedicalCentric - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Bnb85MBAV3c
• Daylight Savings Time - Returning to Standard
(Traffic Service - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/j7_VAMKVgY4
5. LIGHT
• https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/bc-daylight-saving-health-concerns-9.7114947
"Daylight time can also contribute to "social jet lag," when daily schedules are misaligned with the body's preferred light exposure. In the short term, this could mean people feel groggy or sluggish. Over time, that mismatch — combined with less sleep — can snowball into other health problems".
6. COUNTRIES ABANDONING PERMANENT DST
• https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/bc-daylight-saving-health-concerns-9.7114947
• https://time.com/5159865/countries-stopping-the-clock-on-daylight-saving-time/
"Russia switched to permanent winter time in 2014 after a failed experiment to put clocks on year-round summer time in 2011. The policy apparently caused health issues in northern Russia, where mornings would remain darker for longer during the winter months."
• https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/10/26/most-countries-dont-observe-daylight-saving-time/
=========================================/
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES NOT INCLUDED IN THE EMAIL ABOVE
• Which time zone would be better if Alberta stopped switching the clocks?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd0nGJ-n-KY
• Let Me Explain: Permanent Daylight Saving vs. Standard Time | NBCLA
NBCLA - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUE7RjrTmh8
• What happened to ditching Daylight Saving Time?
CBCTheNational - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ctzEg_QR4ek
• Permanent shift to Daylight Saving Time could
NPR - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wM-j42Jxisw
• Canada Said No To More Daylight Saving Time In 1974!!! | CBC Archives
CBC - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwutlXGmWgo&t=15s
• 2021 Alberta Referendum Question - Daylight
elections.ab https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AQdqqTURT-I
• Alberta considering scrapping daylight saving time
CTV News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz83XvjRXWw
• No to Daylight Savings in Alberta Time ...
yegventured - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UWVmb346uTo
• How the change would impact Alberta if the province adopts daylight saving time
CTV News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm8kxt7TAYQ
• Is it time to talk about time changes AGAIN?
cbcalberta - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/n0MynBGCfDQ
• Some Calgarians embrace end of Daylight Saving time
CityNews - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upUGpRbUbQc
• Fixing Daylight Saving Time Is THIS Easy (history)
Be Smart | - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMrb56dDpic
• Daylight Savings Time Survey: Minister Glubish - November 19, 2019
YourAlberta (Government of Alberta) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gBt1OgrmZ8
https://www.alberta.ca/daylight-saving-time-engagement
• Albertans to vote on keeping daylight savings time year-round - 2021
CBC News: The National - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3CZzPYwgVI
• Albertans can vote their say on Daylight Saving Time in the municipal election - 2021
660 News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azW-9z7f8UU
• Albertans Vote To Keep Daylight Savings Time - 2021
Calgary Herald - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQm3AzlHjqQ
• Daylight saving time in Alberta: Should it continue? - 2021
660 News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf7Bu_mdO1k
• Daylight savings could be referendum issue says Alberta Premier - 2026
City News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h3NjJbX47g
• Alberta's premier consulting on ending clock
GlobeandMail - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4PwCIytmU5Y
Physical and EMAIL Addresses for Alberta Executive Council found at :
https://www.alberta.ca/albertaFiles/includes/directorysearch/goaBrowse.cfm?txtSearch=Executive%20Branch&Ministry=EXC&LevelID=17767&userid=69973#69973&varExpandID=-1 or here:
EMAIL Addresses for Alberta Executive Council
premier@gov.ab.ca
PSES.minister@gov.ab.ca
tbf.minister@gov.ab.ca
ae.minister@gov.ab.ca
au.minister@gov.ab.ca
AGRIC.Minister@gov.ab.ca
acsw.minister@gov.ab.ca
ALSS.Minister@gov.ab.ca
cfs.minister@gov.ab.ca
education.minister@gov.ab.ca
minister.energy@gov.ab.ca
epa.minister@gov.ab.ca
fp.minister@gov.ab.ca
PPHS.minister@gov.ab.ca
HSHS.Minister@gov.ab.ca
IM.minister@gov.ab.ca
ir.ministeroffice@gov.ab.ca
infrastructure.minister@gov.ab.ca
cardston.siksika@assembly.ab.ca
ministryofjustice@gov.ab.ca
mha.minister@gov.ab.ca
minister.municipalaffairs@gov.ab.ca
ministersa@gov.ab.ca
ti.minister@gov.ab.ca
ts.minister@gov.ab.ca
transportation.minister@gov.ab.ca
grant.hunter@assembly.ab.ca
LINK for Alberta MLA email addresses: https://www.assembly.ab.ca/members/members-of-the-legislative-assembly
