View source for Newfoundland Time Zone

{{short description|Time zone in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada}}
{{Infobox time zone
|title                     =Newfoundland Time Zone
|image                     =timezoneswest.PNG
|offset                    =−03:30
|dst offset      =−02:30
|initials    =NST
|dst initials    =NDT
}}
The '''Newfoundland Time Zone''' ('''NT''') is a geographic region that keeps time by subtracting 3.5 hours from Coordinated Universal Time ([[UTC]]) during [[standard time]], resulting in [[UTC−03:30]]; or subtracting 2.5 hours during [[daylight saving time]].<ref>''[http://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/s23.htm Standard Time Act]'' 2006.</ref> The clock time in this zone is based on the [[mean solar time]] of the [[Meridian (geography)|meridian]] 52 degrees and 30 [[arcminute]]s west of the [[Greenwich Observatory]]. It is observed solely in the Canadian province of [[Newfoundland and Labrador]]. The Newfoundland Time Zone is the only active time zone with a half-hour offset from UTC in the Americas.

== Scope ==
Officially, per [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] provincial law, the entire province observes Newfoundland Time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/s23.htm|title=Rsnl1990 Chapter S-23 - Standard Time Act}}</ref> In practice, however, Newfoundland Time is observed only on the [[Newfoundland (island)|island of Newfoundland]], its smaller offshore islands, and the southeastern [[Labrador]] communities including and south of [[Black Tickle, Newfoundland and Labrador|Black Tickle]]. The rest of Labrador, from [[Cartwright, Newfoundland and Labrador|Cartwright]] north and west, observes [[Atlantic Time Zone|Atlantic Time]] along with the rest of [[Atlantic Canada]]. Southeastern Labrador prefers Newfoundland Time in part to synchronize with the schedule of radio broadcasts from Newfoundland.

This time zone exists because of the location of the island and the fact that it was a separate [[dominion]] when [[Time zone#History|time zones were established]]. Newfoundland lies squarely in the eastern half of the Atlantic Time Zone, with St. John's being exactly three-and-a-half hours from Greenwich. Since the [[Dominion of Newfoundland]] was separate from Canada, it had the right to adopt its own time zone when time zones were first created. While the entire province lies west of the standard meridian for a half-hour time zone, 52.5 degrees west longitude, this is also the near exact meridian of [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]], the province's capital and largest city. In 1935, the [[Newfoundland Commission of Government]] adopted a Standard Time Act which set standard time across the Dominion of Newfoundland at 3.5 hours behind [[Greenwich Mean Time]] (GMT).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hawthorn |first1=Ainsley |title=Half an hour later in Newfoundland: The origin of Canada's 30-minute time zone |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/newfoundland-half-hour-time-zone-1.7001193 |website=CBC News |access-date=4 November 2023 |date=4 November 2023}}</ref>

In 1963, the Newfoundland government attempted to move the province to Atlantic Time in tandem with the rest of Atlantic Canada, but withdrew in the face of stiff public opposition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/north-america/canada/newfoundland/index.htm|title=Newfoundland|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211102309/http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/north-america/canada/newfoundland/index.htm|archive-date=February 11, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.library.mun.ca/media/daily/pdf_issue/1963/05/19630527.pdf|title=Turn Backward, O, Time!|date=1963-05-27|publisher=The Daily News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617081010/https://www.library.mun.ca/media/daily/pdf_issue/1963/05/19630527.pdf|archive-date=June 17, 2011}}</ref>

[[Daylight saving time]] is observed throughout the province. In 1988, the provincial government experimented with double daylight saving time, moving clocks ahead two hours during daylight saving time instead of just one. However, this forced children to go to school in the dark in October.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |access-date=2020-02-02 |date=1988-06-21 |title=Daylight Almost Until Midnight: Newfoundland Tries out Double Daylight-Saving Time |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1988-06-21-0050050237-story.html |first=Peter |last=Benesh }}</ref> In 2006, the province enacted an extension to daylight saving time,<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/s23.htm |title=Standard Time Act |publisher=Government of Newfoundland and Labrador}}</ref> starting in 2007, following the lead of the United States and other Canadian provinces.

This unusual time zone puts the island of Newfoundland an hour and a half ahead of [[Central Canada]], a half hour ahead of the rest of Atlantic Canada, and half an hour behind [[Saint-Pierre and Miquelon]]. Because of this, it will hit milestones of time before (almost) any other part of the continent, a quirk that draws attention to Newfoundland. For instance, the Newfoundland releases of ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'' and ''[[Halo 2]]'' were publicized across Canada. Also, it is very common for the lone independently owned-and-operated TV station in the province, [[CJON-DT]] (known on-air as "NTV"), to use a "World Television Premiere" bumper at the start of some programming that airs before most other North American stations air them.

Likewise, in the case of Canada-wide broadcasts timed to air at the same local hour in the rest of the country through the use of a different feed for each time zone (most commonly the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]'s radio and TV networks), Newfoundland uses Atlantic-time broadcasts. References to programs airing thirty minutes "later" than the Maritimes (e.g. "6:00, 6:30 in Newfoundland") are commonly heard across Canada. However, the province's two full-fledged stations, CJON and [[CBNT-DT]] (both based in St. John's), originate local programming with phrasing such as "coming up at 6:00, 5:30 in most of Labrador."

==Major metropolitan areas==
*[[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador]]
*[[Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador]]

==See also==
*Newfoundland's [[Daylight Saving Act of 1917]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://time5.nrc.ca/webclock_e.shtml Official times across Canada] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118162140/http://time5.nrc.ca/webclock_e.shtml |date=2016-01-18 }}
* [http://www.travel.com.hk/region/timezone.htm World time zone map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224150321/http://www.travel.com.hk/region/timezone.htm |date=2015-12-24 }}
* [http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/us_tzones History of U.S. time zones and UTC conversion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070922004805/http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/us_tzones |date=2007-09-22 }}
* [http://www.worldtimezone.com/time-canada12.html Canada time zone map]
* [http://timeanddate.com/worldclock/full.html Time zones for major world cities]

{{North American time zones}}

[[Category:Time zones]]
[[Category:Time in Canada]]
[[Category:Culture of Newfoundland and Labrador]]