Twenty-five kilometers off the southern coast of Newfoundland, Canada, there is France.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon, two small islands with a combined area of 242 square kilometers, have been French territory almost continuously since 1763. They are the last remnant of New France in North America, a territory that once encompassed most of Canada and the Mississippi Valley. The French population here has maintained its identity through over two and a half centuries of Canadian and American adjacency.

The timezone is America/Miquelon: UTC-3 in winter, UTC-2 during daylight saving (same DST schedule as France’s EU neighbors).

The timezone oddity

Newfoundland, which is immediately adjacent, observes Newfoundland Standard Time: UTC-3:30 in winter, UTC-2:30 in summer. Saint Pierre and Miquelon, at UTC-3 and UTC-2, differs from its nearest neighbor by 30 minutes in both seasons.

This is one of those timezone adjacencies where crossing a narrow strip of ocean changes your clock by half an hour, in either direction depending on the season.

Why UTC-3 rather than matching Newfoundland’s UTC-3:30? Saint Pierre and Miquelon is administered as part of France’s overseas territory network and historically aligned itself with the mainland North American timezone grid rather than Newfoundland’s unusual half-hour offset. It observes DST on the French/EU schedule, shifting clocks on the last Sunday in March and October rather than the US/Canadian schedule, which runs on different dates.

The last of New France

France controlled vast stretches of North America from the early 17th century until 1763, when the Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years’ War and France ceded Canada to Britain. Saint Pierre and Miquelon changed hands several times but ended up back with France and have remained French ever since.

For most of their history, the islands’ economy was built around fishing, particularly cod. The Grand Banks off Newfoundland were among the richest fishing grounds in the Atlantic, and French fishermen competed with British and Portuguese boats there for centuries. The cod fishery has collapsed since; the Canadian government imposed a moratorium on Atlantic cod fishing in 1992.

The islands’ economy now depends on tourism, French government subsidies, and a small aquaculture sector.

Prohibition and rum

During American Prohibition (1920-1933), Saint Pierre and Miquelon became a significant transshipment point for alcohol smuggled into the United States. Bootleggers organized supply chains that ran from European distilleries through Saint Pierre, where product was loaded onto rum-running vessels that made the crossing to the US coast.

Al Capone reportedly visited Saint Pierre personally to arrange supply. The rum-running era was one of the islands’ more profitable periods.

For developers

Sources