More than 223,000 online surveys were submitted in the government’s public consultation

Premier John Horgan (right) hinted that British Columbians voted to stay in Daylight Saving Time permanently while at an announcement at the BC Cancer Centre in Victoria on July 22, 2019. (Nicole Crescenzi/Victoria News Staff)

British Columbians broke a record in the government’s public consultation on Daylight Saving Time.

More than 223,000 people filled out the online survey over the four weeks it was open, ending on July 19, on whether to keep or get rid of the time change.

Premier John Horgan hinted on Monday that most people want to end the “spring forward” and “fall back.”

“I did not expect that type of response, but certainly there is one, and when we have the information, we’ll make it available to the public,” Horgan told reporters.

ALSO READ: Should B.C. get rid of daylight saving time?

“Washington and Oregon have passed legislation, and California had a referendum which was overwhelmingly in favour of that,” Horgan said. “The difference is in the United States they require an act of Congress. In Canada, we require a decision by the provincial government, so we’ll look at that and make a decision at the right time.”

ALSO READ: B.C. offers to work with U.S. states on daylight saving time

About 99,000 surveys were completed in the Lower Mainland, 62,000 on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, 33,500 in the Thompson-Okanagan, 12,000 in the Kootenays, and 7,300 in the Cariboo.

About half of the respondents were between the ages of 40 and 64, and about a third were between 18 and 39 years old.

nicole.crescenzi@vicnews.com

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