2-Time Zones

The topic of time zones in the Newfoundland area is definitely worth some thought as well. Overall, Canada has 6 time zones which are for the most part regulated by provincial and territorial govern ments. To make it even more confusing, not every province (or portion thereof) sticks to Daylight Savings Time.

While much of Canada’s eastern portion falls into the same time zone as Washington D.C., there is a landmass that reaches far into the Atlantic which for this reason shows an appropriate hour difference in fact equaling this time with that of Greenlandic Qaanaag. This landmass represents most of Labrador (but not all) as well as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. These areas are on Atlantic Standard Time (AST). Check the two maps below, one of time zones and one political map showing province borders.

Source: University of Texas accessed at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/world_maps/time_zones_ref_2013.pdf

Source: Wikipedia--Atlas of Canada (archived)

Newfoundland and a very small portion of Labrador to the north have their own time zone, another  ½ hour earlier than AST; it is on—gulp—Newfoundland Standard Time (NST). Indeed. Before Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, it was its own dominion under the British Crown and thus could determine its own time zone. It is exactly three and a half hours away from Greenwich so that is what the dominion settled on. As a province--Newfoundland and Labrador--has two different time zones.

But that is not all. There are two French islands off the southeastern coast of Newfoundland, St. Pierre and Miquelon (under French control), with their own time zone altogether (UTC -3).