Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is open to ending seasonal clock changes, but wants Quebec and parts of the eastern United States, including New York, on board before Ontario makes the move.
Ford made the comments Wednesday after Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said last month that his government intends to stop changing the clocks twice a year. Quebec plans to consult experts before deciding whether to keep daylight time or standard time year-round.
Ford said he would be “all in” if neighbouring jurisdictions agreed. He pointed to the financial sector as one reason to co-ordinate the change with New York. His comments did not include a timeline for Ontario to act.
The choice between permanent daylight time and permanent standard time would affect when Ontarians see daylight in winter. In Toronto, staying on daylight time would move sunrise on the winter solstice to about 8:45 a.m. and sunset to about 5:45 p.m.
That would give residents more daylight in the late afternoon, but it would also mean darker mornings. Some sleep experts favour keeping standard time year-round, a position backed by a recent analysis in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
