As spring approaches, Canadians will soon have to adjust their clocks.

Daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 10 at 2 a.m. local time this year, when observers will set their clocks forward, or "spring forward," by one hour.

This change comes just nine days before the official first day of spring, which falls on Tuesday, March 19 this year.

Daylight saving time is expected to end on November 3 this year, when clocks will be set back one hour on that Sunday.

Who observes daylight time?

Daylight saving time starts in most parts of Canada on the second Sunday of March each year. Municipalities decide whether to observe the change or not, and some have chosen not to participate in this practice.

Yukon, most of Saskatchewan, eastern Quebec, northwestern Ontario, and some areas in eastern, northeastern, and southeastern British Columbia use standard time year-round.

Why do we change the clocks?

While people will lose an hour of sleep on March 10, daylight saving time was created to maximize sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere, according to National Geographic magazine.

There are conflicting accounts of when daylight saving time started.

The residents of Port Arthur, Ontario, now known as Thunder Bay, were the first in the world to set their clocks forward one hour on July 1, 1908, according to several online sources.

While reports indicate this area was the first to try it, many historical sites say Germany was the first country to adopt the idea on April 30, 1916, in an attempt to conserve electricity, followed by the United Kingdom weeks later.

Western Canada University says the credit for this idea goes to a New Zealand entomologist, who first proposed a two-hour shift in 1895 — a step suggested to provide more daylight after working hours during the summer.