Date format

Configuration which contains date information that includes the specification of the form and structure of the date data within the date format in different scenarios.

Conversational and long-form

When the date is written out in long-form (i.e. narrative, instructions, commentary, information), it is recommended that you use a more conversational and more natural “readable” tone.

This presents the date in a conventional “speaking” way and aligns with the Canadian Style Guide 5.14 Dates.

Short-hand

When space is limited (e.g., example forms, tables, summary pages, mobile) it may be necessary to have a more condensed date displayed.

The format remains the same, but a three-letter abbreviation for the month may be used.

Examples:
Jul 14, 2022
Nov 6, 2024

Three-letter month abbreviations:

Day of the week

Days of the week can be included. It helps to bring clarity and comprehension of the date. The format described above is extended, with the day of the week appearing first, followed by a comma, then the date expression.

Either long-form or short-form may be used, but not mixed.

Time

When displaying time, the Government of Alberta prefers to use the 12-hour clock format.

Both also prefer “am” and “pm” be written with a space after the time, without the periods as per the Canadian Style Guide.

Examples:
8:00 am
11:45 pm

When the time is written with a date, the date comes first and the time follows, after “at”.

Day, Month date, Year at XX:XX am/pm

(e.g., Friday, March 14, 2021 at 2:26 pm)

Time zones

When needed, the time zone can be written after the time in long-form or short-form. The long-form is always in parenthesis and the short-form is always a capitalized three-letter abbreviation.

Examples:
8:00 am (Eastern standard time)
11:45 pm PDT

Canadian time zones
Pacific standard / daylight time
Mountain standard / daylight time
Central standard / daylight time
Eastern standard / daylight time
Atlantic standard / daylight time
Newfoundland standard / daylight time

Three letter abbreviations

Standard and Daylight time

In the regions of Canada where daylight saving time is used, it begins on the second Sunday of March at 2 a.m. and ends on the first Sunday in November at 2 a.m. As a result, daylight saving time lasts for 34 weeks (238 days) every year, or about 65 percent of the entire year.

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

12-month timeline highlighting those that pertain to daylight time.

Do

Use standard time between the months of November and March.

Do

Use daylight time between the months of April and October.

4:43pm (MST)

Dont

Don’t wrap the three-letter abbreviation in parentheses.

From April to October Alberta participates in daylight saving time.

Accessibility and Screen readers

Using a npm module (accessible-date), we are able to ensure that dates displayed are readable and accessible for screen readers:
https://github.com/MikesBarto/accessible-date