Community members weigh in on whether or not to abolish Daylight Saving Time

Manitobans will get an extra hour of sleep Sunday morning as the clocks rewind.

Time after time, there have been plenty of debates about whether or not the province should abandon Daylight Saving Time.

Narrative Research stated in 2020 that nearly 83 per cent of people surveyed in the prairies would support the elimination of time changes in the spring and fall, with time staying the same year-round.

PortageOnline hit the streets to find out how the people of our community feel about the bi-annual time adjustment.

Margaret from Portage wishes they would leave the time as it is now.

"I like it brighter in the summer longer, and if it's dark in the winter, it's dark either longer in the morning or longer at night."

Kyle, a business owner in Portage, articulates that he would like to keep the system as is.

"Change just for the sake of change isn't always beneficial," says Pettinger. "I can understand certain people's points of view for wanting that change. Sometimes it's good enough to leave it alone, and just kind of let it ride out. So, I'm kind of riding the fence on this one, unfortunately, where I wouldn't give a hard answer one way or the other."

Paulette from Delta beach voices her opinion on the matter.

"It doesn't bother me either way. However, I have grandchildren that are really affected by it, so staying the same would be best for them."

Portage Mayor Sharilyn Knox states that she is neutral on the issue.

"I have lived in Saskatchewan, where the time didn't change and in Manitoba most of my life, so I don't really have an opinion either way. But I do think for us Manitobans. It definitely gives us something to talk about when it happens. So, I guess we'll just get ready for the fallback."

Portage resident John says that while he doesn't mind gaining an hour in the fall, he despises losing the hour of sleep in the spring.

"It really affects my work schedule and stuff," John continues. "Working early mornings at 6:45 in the morning, it kind of sucks losing that hour. What if I want to stay up late? I hope they get rid of it."

Robert, who was shopping downtown, says he prefers it the way it is.

"Changing it would be hard unless all the provinces and states did it. If we stayed on standard time all year, the sun would come up at 4:30 a.m. in the summer and set at 8:30. I like the extra hour of daylight in the evening compared to the morning when I am sleeping. If we stayed on daylight savings time, the sun wouldn't come up until 9:30 a.m in the winter. I don't like the early sunsets we will get now but I'd hate a late morning sunrise even more."

The first-ever verified claims of daylight saving being adopted in the world actually occurred in Canada, on May 1st, 1908, in the small towns of Port Arthur and Fort William, Ontario.

Love it or hate it, the clocks will be set back this Sunday, November 6th, at 2 a.m.