Calgary votes to keep changing clock twice a year, approve removal of equalization payments

With nearly all polling stations reporting as of 12 a.m. MT, results on referendum questions, and where the city stands on a pair of matters, have become more clear.

The debate surrounding daylight saving has gone on for decades, and that was shown when ballots were cast Monday.

With more than 378,000 votes cast, Calgary voted 51 per cent in favour of keeping the current process of changing our clocks twice a year in place.

READ MORE:

• Albertans might not know referendum results until Oct. 26

• Alberta’s referendum should not focus on daylight time, psychologists say

• Albertans somewhat split on daylight saving, equalization, poll shows

The second matter being voted on Monday was equalization payments and if Parliament and the Government of Canada’s commitment to the principle of making equalization payments, should be removed from the Constitution.

That vote swayed back and forth through the early part of the evening, but by the end of the night, Calgarians voted largely in favour of having the equalization payments removed from the Constitution, with those in favour beating out those opposed by more than 61,000 votes.

While these results may be close to final for Calgary, the rest of the province will vote before anything is made official.

Other municipalities across Alberta must report their results to Elections Alberta by Oct. 25, at which point the results will be published at 11 a.m. on Oct. 26.