Quebec's spring time change is almost here — Here's when to set your clocks forward for DST

Every year, like clockwork (pun intended), daylight saving time swoops in to steal an hour of your weekend, and 2026 is no different. So if you've been banking on a luxurious sleep-in on the second Sunday of March, think again.

The good news for Quebecers is that shorter, darker days are finally on their way out. The bad news is you'll have to pay a small price before you get there.

When does Quebec's time change in 2026?

Set your alarms. Quebec's clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at 2 a.m., jumping straight to 3 a.m. That means one hour of sleep, gone. If you're still out when it happens, your Saturday night just got shorter, too, since bars lose an hour of service.

On the bright side (literally), evenings will stretch out noticeably from here on in, giving folks more post-work daylight, and more Vitamin D. Spring officially lands on March 20, so the seasonal turnaround is close.

Why do we change the clocks?

The short answer: to make better use of daylight. By pushing clocks forward in the spring, there's more usable light in the evenings, which historically helped reduce energy consumption before modern electricity became widespread. Canada was actually an early adopter of the practice, with Thunder Bay, Ontario, first doing it back in 1908.

More than a century later, most provinces still do it twice a year, though the debate over whether it's still worth it has never really gone away.

What does losing that hour actually do to you?

More than you'd think. According to Harvard Health, the spring time change can throw off your circadian rhythm — the internal system your body uses to regulate sleep, mood, and appetite. Darker mornings suppress serotonin production while brighter evenings push back your melatonin, making it genuinely harder to fall asleep at a normal hour.

Studies show the average person loses 40 minutes of sleep on the Monday after DST kicks in, and a 2020 study linked the spring change to a 6% increase in car accidents.

With that in mind, you may want to take it easy for the first half of the week.

Is daylight saving time here to stay?

Yes, but maybe not forever. Quebec has been mulling over whether to ditch the twice-yearly clock shuffle for good.

Back in October 2024, the provincial government ran a public poll, asking residents whether they'd prefer to stick to a single, permanent time year-round — something Saskatchewan and the Yukon already do. No changes have been made for Quebec since, so DST is still very much happening in 2026.

After March 8, the next time change won't come until November 1, 2026, when clocks fall back, and you finally get that hour returned. Consider it a reward as you gear up for another Montreal winter.