This Sunday's clock change will be the last one British Columbia ever makes. Premier David Eby has announced that B.C. is permanently adopting daylight saving time, meaning when clocks would normally fall back in November 2026, they won't. The hands stay put.
It's a move that puts B.C. alongside Saskatchewan (which stopped changing clocks in 1966) and Yukon (which made the switch in 2020), and it has once again put the question squarely on the table: should Ontario, and Ottawa, do the same?
Why B.C. Is Making the Change
Premier Eby has cited research showing that the twice-yearly time shift causes real, measurable harm: disrupted sleep, increased rates of car accidents in the days following the change, cardiovascular stress, and general disruption to family schedules.
The science on this is fairly consistent. The spring-forward adjustment in particular has been linked to short-term spikes in workplace accidents and traffic incidents. "Unnecessary disruption" is how Eby characterized it, and it's hard to argue with that framing.
What It Means Practically
Starting in November 2026, B.C. will permanently sit one hour ahead of Washington, Oregon, and California for part of the year, creating a temporary misalignment with its closest American neighbours. From March to November, however, it will re-align with the U.S. west coast.
Business groups have pushed back, warning of confusion for companies that operate cross-border. Some critics have also pointed out that the timing of the announcement, amid a $13 billion provincial deficit, looks like a distraction. But the Premier has held firm.
The Ontario Question
Ontario has debated this issue before. In 2020, the province passed legislation that would end the time change, but included a condition: the switch would only happen if Quebec and New York State made the same move. Neither has.
That condition has kept Ontario stuck in clock-change limbo ever since, even as public opinion polls consistently show most Ontarians would prefer to stop. Ottawa residents, used to waking up groggy every March and November, are among the many who have had enough.
With B.C. now joining the permanent daylight time camp, the pressure on Ontario to revisit its conditions, or simply act, may increase. Saskatchewan has managed just fine for sixty years.
Whether Queen's Park is listening is another question.
Source: @shottawa.tv on Instagram
