DST Start 2022: US and Canada
By Anne Buckle and Mathew Gundersen. Published 14-Feb-2022
Most of the United States and Canada start Daylight Saving Time (DST) on Sunday, March 13, 2022. Several states are passing bills for permanent DST.
Update: March 16, 2022:
The US Senate approved a permanent DST bill on March 15, 2022. The legislation can make DST permanent from November 2023.
The striped areas will start Daylight Saving Time on March 13, 2022.
©timeanddate.com
People in areas that observe DST will set their clocks forward one hour from 02:00 (2 am) to 03:00 (3 am), local time, on March 13, 2022.
Standard time, also known as winter time, will resume on Sunday, November 6, 2022.
Most of Europe starts DST two weeks later, on March 27, 2022.
Affects Most of the US
Only the following areas don’t change their clocks:
- Hawaii and most of Arizona.
- The US dependencies American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Marina Islands, the US Minor Outlying Islands, and the US Virgin Islands.
Canada: DST Change
In Canada, clocks will change in almost all areas except:
- Yukon (on permanent DST since 2020)
- Some areas in British Columbia
- Most of Saskatchewan
- Southampton Island
- Some locations in Québec east of 63° west longitude (e.g., Blanc-Sablon)
Many States Want to Remove DST
19 states have enacted legislation or passed regulations for permanent DST:
- 2021: Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Montana.
- 2020: Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming.
- 2019: Arkansas, Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington.
- 2018: Florida and California.
(Source: ncsl.org)
Note: For the bills to become law, the US Congress must first pass a federal law that would allow states to observe DST year-round. This has not happened yet. The current law only allows states to opt out of DST.
Canadians Are Ditching the Switch
Some Canadian provinces and territories also want to ditch the switch in favor of permanent DST.
- Alberta held a referendum on DST in 2021: 50.2% voted to continue changing clocks twice a year.
- In Ontario, the Time Amendment Act (Bill 214) was passed in 2020. The bill puts Ontario on permanent DST as long as Quebec and New York do the same.
In 2019, more than 93% of British Columbians answered in favor of keeping the province on permanent DST. B.C. is still waiting to see if Washington, Oregon, and California go ahead with their proposals to scrap DST.
DST might become history in the European Union
Mexico DST Divided
A few northern Mexican border towns, such as Tijuana and Juárez (Ciudad Juárez), start DST on March 13, 2022 along with the US and Canada.
However, most of Mexico starts DST on Sunday, April 3, 2022. Some regions of Mexico, including cities like Hermosillo and Cancún, do not observe DST.
Also starting DST on March 13 are Cuba, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Thule Air Base in Greenland.
Set Clocks Back or Ahead?
Daylight Saving Time (DST) shifts the local sunrise and sunset times forward one hour, resulting in more daylight in the evenings. To remember which way to set your watch, keep in mind one of these sayings: “spring forward, fall back” or “spring ahead, fall behind.” The clocks spring ahead (= losing one hour) in the spring when DST starts and fall behind one hour (= gaining one hour) when DST ends in the fall.