In 1883, many railroad companies in Canada and the US began using Mr. Fleming's time zone system. In 1884, Sir Sanford Fleming's system was officially made the standardized method of keeping time in the world. Since 1884, Greenwich, England has been the home of Greenwich Mean Time sometimes known as Greenwich Meridian Time. At Greenwich, east meets west. The time zones to the east of Greenwich are ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and places to the west are behind Greenwich Mean Time.

GMT and Canada's Time Zones

All Canadian time zones are behind Greenwich Mean Time. Canada is made up of five different time zones. Look at the diagram to see Canada's time zones. The most eastern province of Canada is Newfoundland. It has Newfoundland Standard Time which is 3 hours and 30 minutes behind Greenwich Mean Time or GMT.

Nova Scotia is on Atlantic Standard Time. Canada's most westerly time zone is Pacific Standard Time, which is 8 hours behind GMT.

Thanks to Sir Sanford Fleming the world has been "on time" ever since!

"Going south this winter?"

Many Canadians like to escape Canada's cold winters and head for the beach down south. It seems like a whole world away but the time zone in the Caribbean is only one hour behind Atlantic Standard Time. Funny how two areas so close in time zones can be so different!