Most of us never think twice about what time it is across the street. But in a few places, a border or time zone line runs right through town, and the answer can get surprisingly complicated.
The best example is Lloydminster, a city that sits in both Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. The provincial border runs right along its main street. For decades, most of Saskatchewan stayed on Central Standard Time all year, while Alberta switched between Mountain Standard and Mountain Daylight Time. To keep everyone in sync, Lloydminster followed Alberta's clocks on both sides of the border.
A Border Through Main Street
Lloydminster was founded in 1903 by British settlers known as the Barr Colonists. Back then, the area was still part of the North-West Territories, and the town was built straddling a survey line called the Fourth Meridian. Its main street sat right on top of it. The town was named for George Lloyd, an Anglican priest who stood out to the colonists during their badly planned, nearly disastrous journey. It grew fast. By 1904 it had a telegraph office and a log church, and in 1905 a daily newspaper started up.
In 1905, Canada created the new provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and picked the Fourth Meridian as the border between them. That split the town in two. Residents asked for the border to be moved so the whole town would be in Saskatchewan, but they didn't succeed.
Two Towns, Then One
For years, Lloydminster operated as two separate towns with two separate governments. In 1930, the provinces agreed to merge them into a single town under shared control. In 1958, the two provinces together made it a city. Today, Lloydminster is incorporated by both provinces as one city with one city government.
How the Clocks Worked
Here's the tricky part. Most of Saskatchewan doesn't use daylight saving time. Alberta did. Lloydminster's charter allowed the city to follow Alberta's time on both sides of the border, so all its clocks would match.
That created a funny situation. In summer, the whole city was on Mountain Daylight Time, which happened to be the same time as the rest of Saskatchewan. But in winter, Lloydminster switched to Mountain Standard Time with Alberta, putting it one hour behind the rest of Saskatchewan. Since 2026, Alberta and Lloydminster stay on Mountain Daylight Time year-round. That means the whole city now shares the same clock as most of Saskatchewan all year long.
Other Towns That March to Their Own Clock
Lloydminster isn't alone. In the U.S., Kenton is the only Oklahoma community that observes Mountain Time, though only informally, reportedly because most people it deals with come from New Mexico or Colorado. Businesses there post their hours with MT to avoid confusion.
Phenix City, Alabama, sits right across the river from Columbus, Georgia, and unofficially keeps Eastern Time instead of Alabama's Central Time, thanks to close ties with its bigger neighbor. And tiny Hyder, Alaska, sets its clocks to British Columbia's Pacific Time instead of Alaska Time, since it's so closely tied to the Canadian town next door.
So the next time someone asks what time it is, be glad the answer is simple. In a few places, it depends on which side of the street you're standing on. Time, it turns out, can be a very local thing.
