The familiar routine of moving clocks forward in the spring and turning them back in the fall is disappearing across much of Western Canada, as more provinces and territories adopt a single time throughout the year. Manitoba became the latest province to make the change on September 17, 2026, announcing that it will remain on Daylight Saving Time permanently. This means Manitobans will not turn their clocks back on November 1, 2026, ending the province’s twice-yearly clock changes.
The decision followed public consultation in Manitoba. According to results reported by the province, approximately 92% of participants wanted the twice-yearly clock changes to end. Of respondents, 58% preferred permanent Daylight Saving Time, while 34% preferred permanent Standard Time. Manitoba’s move is part of a broader shift taking place across Western Canada. British Columbia made its final seasonal clock change on March 8, 2026, adopting year-round Pacific Time at UTC−7. As a result, B.C. will not turn its clocks back in November. Alberta has also moved to eliminate seasonal clock changes, while Saskatchewan has long operated without the traditional twice-yearly switch. Yukon has similarly maintained a fixed year-round time since 2020. With Manitoba joining the change, seasonal clock adjustments are effectively disappearing across Canada’s western provinces. The change does not mean every western province will display the same time. Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta will generally share the UTC−6 offset year-round, while British Columbia and Yukon use UTC−7. This means Manitoba will be one hour ahead of Alberta and Saskatchewan under Manitoba’s permanent daylight-time arrangement, according to current reporting. The debate over changing clocks has continued in Canada for years. Supporters of ending the seasonal switch point to the inconvenience of resetting clocks and disruptions to sleep, family routines, workplaces, transportation and scheduling. Health researchers have also studied the effects associated with the twice-yearly transition. However, there is a separate debate over which permanent time should be used. Some sleep and circadian-rhythm experts favour permanent Standard Time because morning sunlight more closely aligns with the body’s biological clock. Permanent Daylight Saving Time, meanwhile, provides later evening daylight but can result in significantly darker winter mornings. For example, under Manitoba’s new system, Winnipeg’s winter sunrise will occur considerably later than it did under Standard Time. This is one of the issues health researchers and municipalities are expected to monitor as the province adjusts to its first winter without turning the clocks back. The changes also create new time differences within Canada. Provinces that continue to observe seasonal Daylight Saving Time can have different time gaps with Western Canada depending on the season, meaning travellers, businesses and people arranging meetings across provinces will need to pay closer attention to time zones.
For millions of Canadians in jurisdictions that have abandoned seasonal clock changes, however, one familiar reminder will soon become unnecessary: there will be no need to “spring forward” or “fall back.” Manitoba’s announcement marks another significant step toward ending the twice-a-year clock-changing tradition across Western Canada, while other parts of the country continue to follow seasonal time changes.