Permanent daylight saving time in B.C. begins Nov. 1, with potential schedule and technology glitches

The Story

British Columbia will stop the annual clock change this fall, moving to permanent Pacific daylight time starting Sunday, Nov. 1.

Under the new arrangement, B.C. will be two hours behind eastern time and one hour ahead of U.S. states in the Pacific Time Zone.

A technology expert, Andy Baryar, warned that the shift could create confusion for scheduled appointments if devices and calendars are not synchronized, saying, “Our phones might say one time, but our calendar, our meeting requests, the meetings we already scheduled, might say another.”

Baryar said people should “check to make sure those are synched,” particularly for reoccurring meetings, because differences can depend on where and when a meeting request was created.

Sports schedules are also expected to be affected. The Vancouver Whitecaps game on Sunday is listed as 1:30 p.m., but Baryar’s time-offset example noted it is “listed as 2:30 p.m. in some places and 4:30 p.m. ET,” described as being off by an hour, and the Whitecaps issued a reminder on its Facebook page.

The Vancouver Canucks will see almost a dozen Saturday games pushed back to 8 p.m. to accommodate TV schedules.

At Vancouver International Airport, staff said they have worked with airlines to support the transition and ensure smooth operations.

In a statement, the airport said passengers whose flights are adjusted will already see the updated flight times reflected in their travel information, adding, “No further action is required,” while noting that travellers can check with their airline if they have questions.

The airport said the majority of flights arriving from or departing to destinations outside B.C. have had schedule adjustments of approximately one hour compared with last winter, and that the new flight times are already reflected in passenger itineraries.

B.C. is one of several provinces that elected this year not to continue time changes, with Quebec and most parts of Ontario and Nunavut continuing the annual clock change while B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and the Northwest Territories remain on permanent daylight saving time.