Time Zones in Canada: Every Province's Offset for Winter 2026–27

Every province and territory at a glance

Offsets are from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). "Winter" means November 1, 2026 to March 14, 2027; "summer" means from March 14, 2027.

* Nunavut has three zones and has not decided whether to follow its neighbours (see below).

Daylight saving time in Canada is set by each province and territory, not by Ottawa. That is why the 2026 changes came one jurisdiction at a time, by news release, proclamation or regulation.

What changed in 2026

• British Columbia made its final clock change on March 8, 2026. Its time zone is now simply called Pacific time (abbreviated PCT), set at UTC−7 all year.
• Alberta adopted Alberta Time, equal to UTC−6. From November 2026 clocks no longer reset to Mountain Standard Time.
• Northwest Territories regulations define Northwest Territories Time as UTC−6; seasonal changes end on November 1, 2026 across the whole territory, including Inuvik.
• Manitoba signed a proclamation on September 25, 2026 keeping daylight time permanently, so the province stays at UTC−5.
• Saskatchewan replaced its Time Act in 2026. The province itself still observes UTC−6 all year, as it has since 1966.

The result is that the old "Mountain" and "Central" labels no longer describe what clocks show in winter. Alberta, the NWT and Saskatchewan now share one clock all year, and Manitoba shares Ontario's clock in winter.

Time differences between Canadian cities this winter

Coast to coast, St. John's is now 3.5 hours ahead of Vancouver in winter and 4.5 hours ahead in summer (it used to be 4.5 hours all year). Vancouver to Toronto is 2 hours in winter and 3 hours in summer. Calgary and Regina now share the same clock in every season.

Exceptions inside provinces

Several regions do not follow their province's main time. As of mid-October 2026:

• Northeastern BC (Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson and nearby communities) has long stayed at UTC−7 all year; that is now the same as the rest of BC.
• East Kootenay, BC (Cranbrook, Fernie, Sparwood, Invermere, Kimberley and the rest of the Regional District of East Kootenay) stays at UTC−6 all year from November 1, 2026, matching Alberta. A few nearby communities outside the regional district made their own decisions in September 2026; check with your local government.
• Lloydminster, on the Alberta–Saskatchewan border, used to run on Alberta's winter clock. With Alberta at UTC−6 all year, both sides of the city now show the same time year-round.
• Northwestern Ontario: the Central-time area west of 90° W (Kenora and the Rainy River district, for example) was announced by the Ontario government on October 13, 2026 to stay at UTC−5 with Manitoba from November 1, through a regulation under the Time Act. Thunder Bay is on Eastern time and falls back with the rest of Ontario.
• Quebec east of 63° W (the Lower North Shore, including Blanc-Sablon) uses Atlantic time, UTC−4, and does not change clocks.
• Labrador: most of Labrador is on Atlantic time rather than Newfoundland time and changes with it.
• Southampton Island, Nunavut (Coral Harbour) stays on Eastern Standard Time, UTC−5, all year.

Nunavut: no decision yet

Nunavut spans three zones: Eastern (Iqaluit and the Qikiqtaaluk region), Central (the Kivalliq region, such as Rankin Inlet and Arviat) and Mountain (the Kitikmeot region, such as Cambridge Bay). As of early October 2026 the territorial government said no decision had been made on following its neighbours, and the review could take several months. Unless Nunavut acts, all three zones fall back on November 1, 2026:

• Kivalliq goes to UTC−6, an hour behind Winnipeg, where it used to share Manitoba's clock.
• Kitikmeot goes to UTC−7, an hour behind Yellowknife and Edmonton.

We will update this page if Nunavut announces a change.

Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces

Ontario passed the Time Amendment Act in 2020 to stay on daylight time permanently, but the law only takes effect on a date set by proclamation, and it has not been proclaimed, so Ontario keeps changing its clocks. Quebec held a public consultation in 2024 in which a large majority wanted the time change abolished but has not changed its law. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador continue to change clocks on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November.

The next dates for these provinces are 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 1, 2026 (fall back), Sunday, March 14, 2027 (spring forward) and Sunday, November 7, 2027 (fall back). See daylight saving time in Canada for the full schedule.

Canada's official time and how devices get it

The National Research Council (NRC) keeps Canada's official time with atomic clocks in Ottawa. You can check it three ways:

• the NRC web clock on nrc.canada.ca;
• the NRC network time servers time.nrc.ca and time.chu.nrc.ca, which computers can use to sync;
• the talking clock, which announces Eastern time: 613-745-1576 (English) or 613-745-9426 (French). Long-distance charges apply outside Ottawa.

The NRC's old CHU shortwave time signal has been discontinued. Phones and computers take their time-zone rules from the international tz database, which added the BC, Alberta, NWT and Manitoba changes in releases 2026b to 2026e. Install system updates before November 1 so your device does not fall back by mistake in a province that no longer changes.

Tips for scheduling across provinces

• Name the zone or the city in invitations ("2 p.m. Toronto time") rather than "Central" or "Mountain", which now mean different things in winter.
• Recheck recurring meetings after November 1 and March 14: their position shifts for anyone in a province that does not change.
• National broadcasts scheduled in Eastern time air one hour later on western clocks in winter than they used to.
• Travel: airline and rail timetables always use local time at each end.