Clocks don’t change Sunday as BC, Alberta, Manitoba and others keep permanent daylight time

The Story

Residents in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, northwestern Ontario and the Northwest Territories will not set their clocks back this Sunday, as the regions chose to stick with daylight time this year.

The decision shifts more daylight to evenings but means later sunrises in the colder months, including in Winnipeg where the sun will not rise until almost 9:30 a.m. in late December, in Edmonton where sunrise will be around 9:50 a.m., and in Prince Rupert, B.C., where it will be after 10 a.m.

While clocks remain unchanged, the change already affects how some organizations plan for the weekend and the season ahead. Canada Border Services Agency said it shifted hours at 26 land crossings to align with U.S. states, where clocks will fall back an hour on Saturday night, aiming to bring more clarity for travellers.

At the International Peace Garden that sits on the Manitoba–North Dakota border, CEO Tim Chapman said the garden will follow separate hours for the first time, with Canadian employees coming in an hour earlier than American colleagues so both sides can work their usual schedules; he also said the garden would effectively be open an hour longer, though winter operations are quieter.

For residents of Lloydminster, which spans Alberta and Saskatchewan, the city will no longer need to juggle two different times this winter, as Alberta’s permanent mountain daylight time will align with Saskatchewan’s permanent central standard time. Mayor Gerald Aalbers said the change ends confusion that has affected school sports and doctors’ appointments when people head into Saskatchewan.

In the Rocky Mountains, Banff Sunshine Village said its opening time will be delayed by a half-hour to 9:30 a.m. to allow enough light for safety checks, though spokeswoman Kendra Scurfield said safety work still needs to be compressed and the slopes will remain open later, to 4:30 p.m.

School divisions and workplaces are also adjusting schedules and safety practices. In Winnipeg’s St. James-Assiniboia School Division, assistant superintendent Jaime Siska said the division is adjusting light timers for school grounds, reviewing lighting at community bus stops and monitoring the visibility of volunteer student crossing guards, while advising parents to ensure students wear bright clothing and asking drivers to be extra vigilant.

Darryl Harrison, CEO of the Winnipeg Construction Association, said construction workers who generally start at 7 a.m. face concerns about working during the coldest part of the day outside, along with an efficiency impact from an extra hour in the dark.

Manitoba has adopted permanent daylight time after a survey suggested overwhelming opposition to clock changes, and Premier Wab Kinew brought an end to time changes in the province. Aalbers said he is relieved the issue has been settled in Lloydminster, even as other countries that tried permanent daylight time—including Russia and Chile in earlier decades and the United States in the 1970s—eventually abandoned the effort.

He said the practical challenge for families can come from pushing back the workday, adding that it can disrupt family plans as people leave work later.