Canada braces for time zone confusion as only some 'fall back' this weekend

CBC English
14 followers
Oct 31, 2026
For some Canadians, the wait for the winter time change is almost over
but confusion over what time it
is across the country is just beginning.
There's a lot of factors, a lot of things that don't make sense
but they're trying to make it make sense and I find it very weird.
I just know that they won't be happy.
We won't have a time change in Calgary, right?
Like as far as I know, that's all I know.
This is how the time zones stack up right now.
But Alberta, Manitoba, parts of northwestern Ontario and the Northwest
Territories have decided not to turn their clocks back on November 1st.
Which means B.C. will be out of step with the U.S. Pacific coast,
Manitoba and Ontario will end up sharing the same time,
and the Northwest Territories will now
be on the same time as Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Confused?
With some time zones falling back and others staying put,
there's the potential for mix-ups
in time-sensitive industries like restaurants and airlines.
I hope that our guests get it when their airplane is coming.
We expect that a few may come an hour late. We hope they don't.
Some of our software might actually still do the time change
because the company is not prepared for it.
And we already got some phone calls that...
And some effects of staying
on daylight saving time could be risky for politicians.
We are predicting that next spring
they're all going to have buyer's remorse
when they hear from their constituents about how tough it
is to get up on those dark winter mornings.
Ontario says they will consider staying
on a permanent time if Quebec and New York do the same.
The newly elected government
in Quebec says they are doing exactly that.
Stephanie Cram, CBC News, Edmonton.
