Daylight saving time 2024: When does the time change in Canada?
Everything you need to know as we approach the first day of fall. ⏰🍂
Sunsets in Quebec will soon be an hour earlier.
With the fall equinox just around the corner, Canadians are beginning to wonder when they'll need to change their clocks for the daylight saving time change this year.
The fall equinox marks the day when the sun shines directly on the equator, making day and night nearly equal in length. As the sun crosses the equator and starts heading south this Sunday, September 22, it will mark the first day of fall in the northern hemisphere.
While this feels like the start of cozy, autumn vibes, the actual daylight saving time change happens much later. Here's everything you need to know about daylight saving time 2024 in Canada.
When does the time change?
In 2024, daylight saving time ends on Sunday, November 3 at 2 a.m., when the clocks will "fall back" one hour.
The next time you'll need to adjust your clocks will be in spring 2025, when they will "spring forward" on Sunday, March 9, 2025.
Do clocks go forward or back?
In November, the clocks will fall back, meaning you'll turn your clocks back by one hour — giving you that welcome extra hour of sleep! In the spring, they'll spring forward again.
Which province does not change time?
Most of Saskatchewan and Yukon do not observe daylight saving time. According to the National Research Council, Saskatchewan sticks to Central Standard Time (CST) all year, even though it's geographically in the Mountain Time Zone. Meanwhile, Yukon has stayed on Mountain Standard Time (MST) year-round ever since it stopped changing its clocks in 2020.
There are also some cities and municipalities across Canada that have chosen not to observe the semiannual time change.
Is Canada getting rid of daylight saving time?
Some provinces are trying! A spokesperson for Quebec's justice minister told MTL Blog in 2022 that the Quebec government was "open" to keeping daylight time year-round, but there hasn't seemed to have been any movement on the issue in the province.
In 2020, Ontario passed the Time Amendment Act to make daylight saving time permanent — meaning it would stay on summer time year-round. But before it can come into effect, the province is waiting for its neighbours Quebec and New York State to do the same to avoid causing disruptions.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act in 2022, which could make daylight time permanent in the States. If the bill becomes law, some Canadian provinces might follow suit, but for now, we're still changing the clocks twice a year.
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