Time in Nunavut
Encyclopedia
Nunavut
is currently divided into three time zones, Eastern, Central and Mountain.
When the territory was created in 1999 the new government believed a unified time zone would make it easier for their citizens to conduct business. Public hearings noted there was support for this idea, although disagreement as to which time zone to observe. The territorial government announced that effective October 31, 1999 all clocks would change to Central Standard Time. Iqaluit the capital located in the far eastern edge of the Eastern time zone was unhappy with this decision. The city council voted against the measure and vowed to keep the city on Eastern time. As late October 1999 approached the city council backed down and agreed to accept the change to Central time "in the spirit of working with the Nunavut government." They agreed to review the decision in six months.
After hearing complaints from a number of communities in late 1999 and early 2000 the government modified the time zone. They announced the territory would now be on Eastern Standard Time year round, daylight time would no longer be observed. The change would be effective October 29, 2000. Many western communities supplied from the south by communities on Mountain time felt this put them too much out of sync with their neighbours. After some debate it was decided the far western communities would be allowed to change back to Central time on November 4, 2000. However they would observe daylight time in the summer. This would unify Nunavut with one time in the summer and keep western communities a constant one hour difference from their southern neighbours.
By April 2001 even this plan was abandoned. Nunavut reverted to the three previous time zones it inherited from the Northwest Territories
administration of the region. The only region to remain on Eastern Standard Time as planned was Southampton Island.
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
is currently divided into three time zones, Eastern, Central and Mountain.
Mountain Standard Time
- Mountain Standard Time MST UTC−7
- West of 102° West102nd meridian westThe meridian 102° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
, and - all communities in the Kitikmeot RegionKitikmeot Region, NunavutKitikmeot Region is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of Victoria Island with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the Boothia Peninsula, together with King William Island and the southern portion of Prince of Wales Island...
,
- West of 102° West
Central Standard Time
- Central Standard Time CST UTC−6
- Between 85° West85th meridian westThe meridian 85° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, Central America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
and 102° West102nd meridian westThe meridian 102° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
(except western Southampton IslandSouthampton IslandSouthampton Island is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of the island is stated as by Statistics Canada . It is the 34th largest...
)* (Resolute, Repulse Bay, Baker Lake, west shore of Hudson Bay),
- Between 85° West
Eastern Standard Time
- Eastern Standard TimeEastern Standard TimeEastern Standard Time may refer to:*North American Eastern Time Zone, UTC-5*Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10*An album by Hip Hop group Kooley High...
EST UTC−5- East of 85° West85th meridian westThe meridian 85° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, Central America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
* (Sanikiluaq, Cape Dorset, Hall Beach, Igloolik, Arctic Bay, Grise Fiord and all points east), and - entire Southampton Island (no DST) (Coral Harbour),
- East of 85° West
When the territory was created in 1999 the new government believed a unified time zone would make it easier for their citizens to conduct business. Public hearings noted there was support for this idea, although disagreement as to which time zone to observe. The territorial government announced that effective October 31, 1999 all clocks would change to Central Standard Time. Iqaluit the capital located in the far eastern edge of the Eastern time zone was unhappy with this decision. The city council voted against the measure and vowed to keep the city on Eastern time. As late October 1999 approached the city council backed down and agreed to accept the change to Central time "in the spirit of working with the Nunavut government." They agreed to review the decision in six months.
After hearing complaints from a number of communities in late 1999 and early 2000 the government modified the time zone. They announced the territory would now be on Eastern Standard Time year round, daylight time would no longer be observed. The change would be effective October 29, 2000. Many western communities supplied from the south by communities on Mountain time felt this put them too much out of sync with their neighbours. After some debate it was decided the far western communities would be allowed to change back to Central time on November 4, 2000. However they would observe daylight time in the summer. This would unify Nunavut with one time in the summer and keep western communities a constant one hour difference from their southern neighbours.
By April 2001 even this plan was abandoned. Nunavut reverted to the three previous time zones it inherited from the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
administration of the region. The only region to remain on Eastern Standard Time as planned was Southampton Island.
External links
- http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/nunavut991030/nvt91029_21.html
- http://www.gov.nu.ca/news/2000/oct/oct3.pdf
- http://www.gov.nu.ca/news/2000/nov/nov4.pdf