fbpx
Wikipedia

Date and time notation in Canada

January 01, 2023

Date and time notation in Canada combines conventions from the United Kingdom, conventions from the United States, and conventions from France, often creating confusion.[1] The Government of Canada specifies the ISO 8601 format for all-numeric dates (YYYY-MM-DD; for example, 2022-12-31).[2] It recommends writing the time using the 24-hour clock (15:31) for maximum clarity in both Canadian English and Canadian French,[3] but also allows the 12-hour clock (3:31 p.m.) in English.[4]

Date and time notation in Canada [refresh]
Full dateEnglish:
  • 31 December 2022
  • December 31, 2022

French:

  • 31 décembre 2022
All-numeric date2022-12-31
Time
  • 15:31
  • 3:31 p.m.

Date

 
Canadian passport stamp from Queenston Bridge, showing the date 8 June 2014

When writing the full date, English speakers vacillate between the forms inherited from the United Kingdom (day first, 7 January) and United States (month first, January 7), depending on the region and context. French speakers consistently write the date with the day first (le 7 janvier). The government endorses all these forms when using words, but recommends only the ISO format for all-numeric dates to avoid error.

English

The date can be written either with the day or the month first in Canadian English, optionally with the day of the week. For example, the seventh day of January 2016 can be written as:[5]

  • Thursday, 7 January 2016 or Thursday, January 7, 2016
  • 7 January 2016 or January 7, 2016
  • 2016-01-07

The month-day-year sequence is the most common method of writing the full date in English[citation needed], but formal letters, academic papers, and reports often prefer the day-month-year sequence.[2] Even in the United States, where the month-day-year sequence is even more prevalent, the Chicago Manual of Style recommends the day-month-year format for material that requires many full dates, since it does not require commas and has wider international recognition.[6] Writing the date in this form is also useful for bilingual comprehension, as it matches the French sequence of writing the date. Documents with an international audience, including the Canadian passport, use the day-month-year format.[7]

The date is sometimes written out in words, especially in formal documents such as contracts and invitations, following spoken forms:[2]

  • "… on this the seventh day of January, two thousand and sixteen …"
  • "… Thursday, the seventh of January, two thousand and sixteen …"
  • informal: "… Thursday, January [the] seventh, twenty sixteen …"

French

French usage consistently places the day first when writing the full date. The standard all-numeric date format is common between English and French:[8]

  • jeudi [le] 7 janvier 2016
  • [le] 7 janvier 2016
  • 2016-01-07

The first day of the month is written with an ordinal indicator: le 1er juillet 2017.[9]

The article le is required in prose except when including the day of the week in a date. When writing a date for administrative purposes (such as to date a document), one can write the date with or without the article.[9]

All-numeric dates

The Government of Canada recommends that all-numeric dates in both English and French use the YYYY-MM-DD format codified in ISO 8601.[10] The Standards Council of Canada also specifies this as the country's date format.[11][12]

The YYYY-MM-DD format is the only method of writing a numeric date in Canada that allows unambiguous interpretation, and the only officially recommended format.[2] The presence of the DD/MM/YY (most of the world) and MM/DD/YY (American) formats often results in misinterpretation. Using these systems, the date 7 January 2016 could be written as either 07/01/16 or 01/07/16, which readers can also interpret as 1 July 2016 (or 1 July 1916); conversely, 2016-01-07 cannot be interpreted as another date.

In spite of its official status and broad usage, there is no binding legislation requiring the use of the YYYY-MM-DD format, and other date formats continue to appear in many contexts. For example, Payments Canada prefers ISO 8601, but allows cheques to be printed using any date format.[13] Even some government forms, such as commercial cargo manifests, offer a blank line with no guidance.[14] To remedy this, Daryl Kramp tabled a private member's bill directing courts on the interpretation of numeric dates by amending the Canada Evidence Act in 2011,[15] which would effectively outlaw all numeric date formats other than YYYY-MM-DD.[1] Todd Doherty revived this bill in 2015, but it did not progress beyond first reading before the end of the 42nd Canadian Parliament.[16][17]

Federal regulations for shelf life dates on perishable goods mandate a year/month/day format, but allow the month to be written in full, in both official languages, or with a set of standardized two-letter bilingual codes, such as 2016 JA 07 or 16 JA 07. The year is required only if the date is beyond the current year, and can be written with two or four digits.[18] These codes are occasionally found in other contexts, alongside other abbreviations specific to English or French.[19][20]

Time

 
Canadian National timetable from 1975 using the 24-hour clock
See also: Time in Canada

Canada was an early adopter of the 24-hour clock, which Sandford Fleming promoted as key to accurate communication alongside time zones and a standard prime meridian.[21] The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) began to use it in 1886, prior to its official adoption by European countries.[22][23] The 24-hour notation is shorter, removes the potential for confusing the first and second halves of the day especially visible at midnight (00:00 or 24:00, 12:00 a.m.) and noon (12:00, 12:00 p.m.), and is language-neutral.[24] English speakers use both the 24- and 12-hour clocks, while French speakers use the 24-hour clock universally.

English

The Government of Canada recommends using the 24-hour clock to avoid ambiguity, and many industries require it. Fifteen minutes after eight o'clock at night can be written:[3]

  • 20:15
  • 20:15:00
  • 8:15 p.m.

The 24-hour clock is widely used in contexts such as transportation, medicine, environmental services, and data transmission, "preferable for greater precision and maximum comprehension the world over".[4] Its use is mandatory in parts of the government as an element of the Federal Identity Program, especially in contexts such as signage where speakers of both English and French read the same text.[25]

The government describes the 24-hour system as "desirable" but does not enforce its use, meaning that the 12-hour clock remains common for oral and informal usage in English-speaking contexts.[26] This situation is similar to the use of the 24-hour clock in the United Kingdom.

French

Communications in Canadian French write the time using 24-hour notation for all purposes.[27] The hours and minutes can be written with different separators depending on the context:[28]

  • 20 h 15
  • 20:15 (tables, schedules, and other technical or bilingual uses)

References

  1. ^ a b Sanderson, Blair (18 January 2016). "Proposed legislation aims to settle date debate". CBC News. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Collishaw, Barbara (2002). "FAQs on Writing the Date". Terminology Update. Government of Canada. p. 12.
  3. ^ a b Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada (1997). "5.13: Representation of time of day". The Canadian style: A guide to writing and editing (Rev. ed.). Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 978-1-55002-276-6.
  4. ^ a b Collishaw, Barbara (2002). "FAQs on Writing the Time of Day". Terminology Update. 35 (3): 11.
  5. ^ Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada (1997). "5.14: Dates". The Canadian style: A guide to writing and editing (Rev. ed.). Toronto: Dundurn Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-55002-276-6.
  6. ^ "6.38: Commas with dates". The Chicago manual of style (17 ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 2017. ISBN 978-0-226-28705-8.
  7. ^ "Transportation company obligations: Guide for transporters". Canada Border Services Agency. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  8. ^ Bureau de la traduction, Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada (15 October 2015). "Date : ordre des éléments (Recommandation linguistique du Bureau de la traduction)". TERMIUM Plus: Clefs du français pratique (in French). Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  9. ^ a b Bureau de la traduction, Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada (15 October 2015). "Date (règles d'écriture)". TERMIUM Plus: Clefs du français pratique (in French). Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  10. ^ "TBITS 36: All-Numeric Representation of Dates and Times – Implementation Criteria". Treasury Board of Canada. 18 December 1997. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  11. ^ National Standard of Canada, "CAN/CSA-Z234.4-89 (R2007): All-Numeric Dates and Times". Standards Council of Canada. 31 December 1989. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Getting on the Same Page When It Comes to Date and Time". Standards Council of Canada. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Cheque Specifications" (PDF). Canadian Payments Association. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  14. ^ Blaze Carlson, Kathryn (29 October 2011). "Is 02/04/12 February 4, or April 2? Bill seeks to end date confusion". National Post. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  15. ^ House of Commons of Canada (13 June 2011). "Private Member's Bill C-207 (41-2): An Act to amend the Canada Evidence Act (interpretation of numerical dates)". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  16. ^ House of Commons of Canada (10 December 2015). "Private Member's Bill C-208 (42-1): An Act to amend the Canada Evidence Act (interpretation of numerical dates)". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  17. ^ Hannay, Chris (1 January 2016). "Tory MP's bill seeks to clarify how dates are written in legal proceedings". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  18. ^ Food Labelling and Claims Directorate (8 June 2017). "Date markings and storage instructions". Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Government of Canada. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  19. ^ Office québécois de la langue française (2002). "Abréviations des noms de mois". Banque de dépannage linguistique (in French). Gouvernement du Québec. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  20. ^ Bureau de la traduction, Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada (15 October 2015). "Mois". TERMIUM Plus: Clefs du français pratique (in French). Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  21. ^ Creet, Mario (1990). "Sandford Fleming and Universal Time". Scientia Canadensis: Canadian Journal of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine. 14 (1–2): 66–89. doi:10.7202/800302ar.
  22. ^ Fleming, Sandford (1886). "Time-reckoning for the twentieth century". Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution (1): 345–366. Reprinted, 1889: Time-reckoning for the twentieth century at the Internet Archive.
  23. ^ The Times notes the CPR timetable in 24-hour notation on a trip from Port Arthur, Ontario. See "A Canadian tour". The Times. No. 31880. London. 2 October 1886. col 1–2, p. 8.
  24. ^ Kuhn, Markus (19 December 2004). "International standard date and time notation". University of Cambridge Department of Computer Science and Technology. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  25. ^ Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (August 1990). Federal Identity Program Manual.
  26. ^ Public Works and Government Services Canada (15 October 2015). "time of day, elapsed time". TERMIUM Plus: Writing Tips. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  27. ^ Ministre des approvisionnements et services Canada (1987). "1.1.12 Heure, minute, seconde". Guide du rédacteur de l'administration fédérale (in French). Ottawa. ISBN 978-0-660-91030-7.
  28. ^ Bureau de la traduction, Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada (15 October 2015). "Heure (écriture de l'heure)". TERMIUM Plus: Clefs du français pratique (in French). Retrieved 19 July 2018.

January 01, 2023
date, time, notation, canada, combines, conventions, from, united, kingdom, conventions, from, united, states, conventions, from, france, often, creating, confusion, government, canada, specifies, 8601, format, numeric, dates, yyyy, example, 2022, recommends, . Date and time notation in Canada combines conventions from the United Kingdom conventions from the United States and conventions from France often creating confusion 1 The Government of Canada specifies the ISO 8601 format for all numeric dates YYYY MM DD for example 2022 12 31 2 It recommends writing the time using the 24 hour clock 15 31 for maximum clarity in both Canadian English and Canadian French 3 but also allows the 12 hour clock 3 31 p m in English 4 Date and time notation in Canada refresh Full dateEnglish 31 December 2022 December 31 2022French 31 decembre 2022All numeric date2022 12 31Time15 313 31 p m Contents 1 Date 1 1 English 1 2 French 1 3 All numeric dates 2 Time 2 1 English 2 2 French 3 ReferencesDate Edit Canadian passport stamp from Queenston Bridge showing the date 8 June 2014 When writing the full date English speakers vacillate between the forms inherited from the United Kingdom day first 7 January and United States month first January 7 depending on the region and context French speakers consistently write the date with the day first le 7 janvier The government endorses all these forms when using words but recommends only the ISO format for all numeric dates to avoid error English Edit The date can be written either with the day or the month first in Canadian English optionally with the day of the week For example the seventh day of January 2016 can be written as 5 Thursday 7 January 2016 or Thursday January 7 2016 7 January 2016 or January 7 2016 2016 01 07The month day year sequence is the most common method of writing the full date in English citation needed but formal letters academic papers and reports often prefer the day month year sequence 2 Even in the United States where the month day year sequence is even more prevalent the Chicago Manual of Style recommends the day month year format for material that requires many full dates since it does not require commas and has wider international recognition 6 Writing the date in this form is also useful for bilingual comprehension as it matches the French sequence of writing the date Documents with an international audience including the Canadian passport use the day month year format 7 The date is sometimes written out in words especially in formal documents such as contracts and invitations following spoken forms 2 on this the seventh day of January two thousand and sixteen Thursday the seventh of January two thousand and sixteen informal Thursday January the seventh twenty sixteen French Edit French usage consistently places the day first when writing the full date The standard all numeric date format is common between English and French 8 jeudi le 7 janvier 2016 le 7 janvier 2016 2016 01 07The first day of the month is written with an ordinal indicator le 1er juillet 2017 9 The article le is required in prose except when including the day of the week in a date When writing a date for administrative purposes such as to date a document one can write the date with or without the article 9 All numeric dates Edit The Government of Canada recommends that all numeric dates in both English and French use the YYYY MM DD format codified in ISO 8601 10 The Standards Council of Canada also specifies this as the country s date format 11 12 The YYYY MM DD format is the only method of writing a numeric date in Canada that allows unambiguous interpretation and the only officially recommended format 2 The presence of the DD MM YY most of the world and MM DD YY American formats often results in misinterpretation Using these systems the date 7 January 2016 could be written as either 07 01 16 or 01 07 16 which readers can also interpret as 1 July 2016 or 1 July 1916 conversely 2016 01 07 cannot be interpreted as another date In spite of its official status and broad usage there is no binding legislation requiring the use of the YYYY MM DD format and other date formats continue to appear in many contexts For example Payments Canada prefers ISO 8601 but allows cheques to be printed using any date format 13 Even some government forms such as commercial cargo manifests offer a blank line with no guidance 14 To remedy this Daryl Kramp tabled a private member s bill directing courts on the interpretation of numeric dates by amending the Canada Evidence Act in 2011 15 which would effectively outlaw all numeric date formats other than YYYY MM DD 1 Todd Doherty revived this bill in 2015 but it did not progress beyond first reading before the end of the 42nd Canadian Parliament 16 17 Federal regulations for shelf life dates on perishable goods mandate a year month day format but allow the month to be written in full in both official languages or with a set of standardized two letter bilingual codes such as 2016 JA 07 or 16 JA 07 The year is required only if the date is beyond the current year and can be written with two or four digits 18 These codes are occasionally found in other contexts alongside other abbreviations specific to English or French 19 20 Time Edit Canadian National timetable from 1975 using the 24 hour clock See also Time in Canada Canada was an early adopter of the 24 hour clock which Sandford Fleming promoted as key to accurate communication alongside time zones and a standard prime meridian 21 The Canadian Pacific Railway CPR began to use it in 1886 prior to its official adoption by European countries 22 23 The 24 hour notation is shorter removes the potential for confusing the first and second halves of the day especially visible at midnight 00 00 or 24 00 12 00 a m and noon 12 00 12 00 p m and is language neutral 24 English speakers use both the 24 and 12 hour clocks while French speakers use the 24 hour clock universally English Edit The Government of Canada recommends using the 24 hour clock to avoid ambiguity and many industries require it Fifteen minutes after eight o clock at night can be written 3 20 15 20 15 00 8 15 p m The 24 hour clock is widely used in contexts such as transportation medicine environmental services and data transmission preferable for greater precision and maximum comprehension the world over 4 Its use is mandatory in parts of the government as an element of the Federal Identity Program especially in contexts such as signage where speakers of both English and French read the same text 25 The government describes the 24 hour system as desirable but does not enforce its use meaning that the 12 hour clock remains common for oral and informal usage in English speaking contexts 26 This situation is similar to the use of the 24 hour clock in the United Kingdom French Edit Communications in Canadian French write the time using 24 hour notation for all purposes 27 The hours and minutes can be written with different separators depending on the context 28 20 h 15 20 15 tables schedules and other technical or bilingual uses References Edit a b Sanderson Blair 18 January 2016 Proposed legislation aims to settle date debate CBC News Retrieved 25 September 2017 a b c d Collishaw Barbara 2002 FAQs on Writing the Date Terminology Update Government of Canada p 12 a b Translation Bureau Public Works and Government Services Canada 1997 5 13 Representation of time of day The Canadian style A guide to writing and editing Rev ed Toronto Dundurn Press ISBN 978 1 55002 276 6 a b Collishaw Barbara 2002 FAQs on Writing the Time of Day Terminology Update 35 3 11 Translation Bureau Public Works and Government Services Canada 1997 5 14 Dates The Canadian style A guide to writing and editing Rev ed Toronto Dundurn Press p 97 ISBN 978 1 55002 276 6 6 38 Commas with dates The Chicago manual of style 17 ed Chicago The University of Chicago Press 2017 ISBN 978 0 226 28705 8 Transportation company obligations Guide for transporters Canada Border Services Agency 11 October 2018 Retrieved 30 October 2018 Bureau de la traduction Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada 15 October 2015 Date ordre des elements Recommandation linguistique du Bureau de la traduction TERMIUM Plus Clefs du francais pratique in French Retrieved 29 March 2018 a b Bureau de la traduction Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada 15 October 2015 Date regles d ecriture TERMIUM Plus Clefs du francais pratique in French Retrieved 19 July 2018 TBITS 36 All Numeric Representation of Dates and Times Implementation Criteria Treasury Board of Canada 18 December 1997 Retrieved 17 March 2012 National Standard of Canada CAN CSA Z234 4 89 R2007 All Numeric Dates and Times Standards Council of Canada 31 December 1989 Retrieved 29 March 2018 Getting on the Same Page When It Comes to Date and Time Standards Council of Canada 11 January 2018 Retrieved 29 March 2018 Cheque Specifications PDF Canadian Payments Association Retrieved 17 March 2012 Blaze Carlson Kathryn 29 October 2011 Is 02 04 12 February 4 or April 2 Bill seeks to end date confusion National Post Retrieved 25 September 2017 House of Commons of Canada 13 June 2011 Private Member s Bill C 207 41 2 An Act to amend the Canada Evidence Act interpretation of numerical dates Parliament of Canada Retrieved 29 March 2018 House of Commons of Canada 10 December 2015 Private Member s Bill C 208 42 1 An Act to amend the Canada Evidence Act interpretation of numerical dates Parliament of Canada Retrieved 29 March 2018 Hannay Chris 1 January 2016 Tory MP s bill seeks to clarify how dates are written in legal proceedings The Globe and Mail Retrieved 29 March 2018 Food Labelling and Claims Directorate 8 June 2017 Date markings and storage instructions Canadian Food Inspection Agency Government of Canada Retrieved 9 June 2015 Office quebecois de la langue francaise 2002 Abreviations des noms de mois Banque de depannage linguistique in French Gouvernement du Quebec Retrieved 26 July 2018 Bureau de la traduction Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada 15 October 2015 Mois TERMIUM Plus Clefs du francais pratique in French Retrieved 12 March 2019 Creet Mario 1990 Sandford Fleming and Universal Time Scientia Canadensis Canadian Journal of the History of Science Technology and Medicine 14 1 2 66 89 doi 10 7202 800302ar Fleming Sandford 1886 Time reckoning for the twentieth century Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution 1 345 366 Reprinted 1889 Time reckoning for the twentieth century at the Internet Archive The Times notes the CPR timetable in 24 hour notation on a trip from Port Arthur Ontario See A Canadian tour The Times No 31880 London 2 October 1886 col 1 2 p 8 Kuhn Markus 19 December 2004 International standard date and time notation University of Cambridge Department of Computer Science and Technology Retrieved 25 July 2018 Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat August 1990 Federal Identity Program Manual Public Works and Government Services Canada 15 October 2015 time of day elapsed time TERMIUM Plus Writing Tips Retrieved 29 March 2018 Ministre des approvisionnements et services Canada 1987 1 1 12 Heure minute seconde Guide du redacteur de l administration federale in French Ottawa ISBN 978 0 660 91030 7 Bureau de la traduction Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada 15 October 2015 Heure ecriture de l heure TERMIUM Plus Clefs du francais pratique in French Retrieved 19 July 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Date and time notation in Canada amp oldid 1127874787, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.