Alberta to make daylight saving time permanent

Government plans to formalize the move ‘later this week,’ says report

Business Strategy

By Jim Wilson

Apr 22, 2026 Share

Alberta is moving to make daylight saving time permanent, ending the twice‑yearly ritual of changing clocks and triggering adjustments for employers across the province, according to a report.

The change is expected to be introduced this week as part of an omnibus bill in the Alberta legislature, reported Global News.

Premier Danielle Smith has indicated that the switch to daylight time in March 2026 was intended to be the final clock change for Albertans. Government sources have confirmed the permanent move will be contained in the upcoming omnibus legislation, which would mean clocks will no longer fall back in November or jump ahead next March, according to the news article.

The bill must still be debated and approved by members of the legislature before it can take effect. According to Global News, the government plans to formalize the move “later this week,” signalling a relatively fast timeline for implementation if it passes.

Earlier this year, Alberta held a stakeholder engagement about the possibility of changing rules for daylight saving. According to the provincial government, the results of the consultation are under review as of the writing of this story.

“Engagement feedback will inform potential impacts of a permanent time zone switch to industry and government services,” the provincial government said.

Changing time relationships with other provinces

If the legislation is approved, Alberta will remain on daylight time year‑round and align permanently with Saskatchewan, which does not observe clock changes. Global News notes that Alberta would also stay one hour ahead of British Columbia, where residents effectively locked in permanent daylight time when they moved clocks forward on March 8 this year.

The change would also alter Alberta’s relationship with Manitoba. Alberta would be on the same time as Manitoba in winter and one hour behind in summer, although Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has recently suggested his province may also move to a single, year‑round time, Global News noted. That could lead to further adjustments for employers operating in both provinces.

Farther east, much of Ontario and Quebec would be one hour ahead of Alberta in winter and two hours ahead in summer, while most Atlantic provinces would be two hours ahead in winter and three hours ahead in summer.

The move comes after decades of debate. Alberta adopted daylight saving time in 1971 following a referendum in which 61.5 per cent of voters supported the change, according to Global News. A provincial survey in 1991 found 91 per cent favoured permanent daylight time, and a more recent referendum narrowly rejected a permanent switch.

Meanwhile, Northwest Territories will also put an end to the shifting of hours, according to the territory's Premier RJ Simpson.

“I am pleased to announce that the Northwest Territories will move to end seasonal time changes and adopt a year-round time standard, following similar actions we expect to be legislated by the Government of Alberta later this week," he said in a statement on the Northwest Territories website.

“This practical, forward-looking decision reflects what many people across the Canada have been calling for. Northerners in particular have been clear on this issue: through public engagement, a majority of NWT residents expressed support for ending seasonal time change and moving to a year-round time."

Doing away with DST could bring many positives to workers’ health, according to a previous report.

Here are the current rules around DST in different parts of Canada:

Province / territory	Current regime & basic rule	Key exceptions / local details	Main government source(s)
Newfoundland and Labrador	Observes DST. Clocks go forward at 02:00 Newfoundland Standard Time (NST) on the second Sunday in March and back at 02:00 Newfoundland Daylight Time (NDT) on the first Sunday in November.	No specific provincial exceptions noted in the federal table.	National Research Council Canada, “Time zones and daylight saving time” (Newfoundland row).
Nova Scotia	Observes DST. Clocks change at 02:00 Atlantic Standard Time (AST) in March and 02:00 Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT) in November, on the North American standard dates (second Sunday in March, first Sunday in November).	No federal note of provincial opt‑out regions.	NRC Canada DST table (Nova Scotia row).
Prince Edward Island	Observes DST, following the same dates and times as Nova Scotia (02:00 AST to 02:00 ADT, March–November).	No federal note of provincial exceptions.	NRC Canada DST table (Prince Edward Island row).
New Brunswick	Observes DST, with clocks changing at 02:00 AST in March and 02:00 ADT in November.	No federal note of provincial exceptions.	NRC Canada DST table (New Brunswick row).
Québec	Observes DST. Legal time is Eastern Standard Time (UTC‑5); clocks move forward to UTC‑4 on the second Sunday in March and return to UTC‑5 on the first Sunday in November.	Lower North Shore (Basse‑Côte‑Nord) uses Atlantic Standard Time all year and does not change clocks with the rest of Québec. The Minganie region (including Anticosti Island) stays on Eastern time, and Îles‑de‑la‑Madeleine and Listuguj observe Atlantic Daylight Time between March and November.	Gouvernement du Québec, “Changement d’heure (temps légal)”; NRC Canada DST table (Québec row and footnote 2).
Ontario	Observes DST. Most of the province uses Eastern time, changing at 02:00 Eastern Standard Time (EST) in March and 02:00 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) in November.	Areas of Ontario west of 90° W longitude are in the Central Time Zone and change at 02:00 local time, per NRC footnote.	NRC Canada DST table (Ontario row and footnote 3).
Manitoba	Observes DST. Clocks change at 02:00 Central Standard Time (CST) to 02:00 Central Daylight Time (CDT) in March, and revert in November, on the standard North American dates.	No specific provincial exceptions are listed in the federal table.	NRC Canada DST table (Manitoba row).
Saskatchewan	Most of Saskatchewan does not change clocks and stays on Central Standard Time (CST) all year, as required by The Time Act; this effectively functions like “permanent standard time” for most of the province.	The Battle River (Lloydminster) Time Option area follows Mountain Standard Time (MST) in winter and observes DST in summer in line with Alberta, meaning clocks change there while the rest of Saskatchewan remains on CST year‑round.	Government of Saskatchewan, “Saskatchewan Time System”; NRC Canada DST table (Saskatchewan row and footnote 4).
Alberta	Observes DST under current federal listing. Clocks change at 02:00 Mountain Standard Time (MST) to 02:00 Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) on the second Sunday in March and revert on the first Sunday in November.	No provincial exceptions are noted in the NRC table. (As of April 2026, the province has announced plans to move to permanent daylight time, but the NRC table still reflects the standard DST regime.)	NRC Canada DST table (Alberta row).
British Columbia	As of March 8, 2026, most of B.C. has adopted permanent year‑round daylight time (“Pacific time” at UTC‑7). The province moved clocks ahead one last time on 8 March 2026 and will not move them back on 1 November 2026; this completes the transition to permanent DST.	Northeastern B.C. communities such as Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Fort Nelson already observe MST (UTC‑7) all year and continue to do so, effectively matching the new provincial Pacific time offset. Southeastern communities in the East Kootenay and Golden regions continue to follow Alberta, switching between MST and MDT and therefore still observing seasonal DST.	Government of British Columbia, “Permanent daylight saving time”; NRC Canada DST table (B.C. row – legacy pattern prior to 2026 change).
Yukon	Does not observe seasonal DST. Since 1 November 2020, Yukon has stayed on Yukon Standard Time at UTC‑7 all year; residents “will no longer have to change their clocks twice a year.”	This permanent time is equivalent to what used to be Pacific Daylight Time; the territory no longer “falls back” in autumn.	Government of Yukon news release “Yukon to remain on permanent time”; NRC Canada DST table (Yukon footnote 6).
Northwest Territories	Observes DST. Follows Mountain Time with clocks changing at 02:00 MST to 02:00 MDT in March and back in November, on the standard North American dates.	No specific territorial DST exceptions are listed in the federal table.	NRC Canada DST table (Northwest Territories row).
Nunavut	Mostly observes DST. Nunavut spans three time zones (Mountain, Central and Eastern); in all three, clocks change at 02:00 local time on the second Sunday in March and first Sunday in November.	Southampton Island (including Coral Harbour) remains on Eastern Standard Time all year and does not change clocks.	NRC Canada DST table (Nunavut row and footnote 5).