Daylight Saving Time In Canada Is About To End & Here's When You Can 'Fall Back' In 2023
Daylight saving time will push clocks back one hour this fall in most parts of Canada, so you can expect earlier nights and brighter mornings after one confusing weekend.
Whether you love or hate the bi-annual tradition of springing forward or falling back, the time change is coming soon and your sleeping pattern is about to get disrupted for a second time in 2023.
Luckily, you should get an extra hour to snooze because it means your Sunday will be 25 hours long instead of the standard 24.
Here's what you need to know about the end of daylight saving time in Canada in 2023.
What is daylight saving time?
Daylight saving time is the practice of setting the clock one hour forward from standard time in the spring and one hour backward in the fall to maximize natural daylight, according to Time and Date.
Daylight saving time lasts from the second Sunday of March until the first Sunday in November, according to Canada's National Research Council.
Daylight saving time has been used for over a hundred years in Canada, starting way back in 1908, according to Time and Date.
There are calls to end daylight saving time or make it permanent each year, and while some provinces have passed laws to stop the back-and-forth, those laws won't come into effect until major U.S. states like New York and California make the same decision.
When does daylight saving time end in 2023?
Daylight saving time ends on November 5, 2023, at 2 a.m. Clocks will be pushed back one hour to 1 a.m. local standard time according to Time and Date, which means sunrise and sunset will be coming at you an hour earlier.
You can expect the sun to rise earlier in the mornings and set earlier at night once daylight saving time ends. We'll also continue to lose sunlight each day until the winter solstice on December 22, which is when we'll have the fewest hours of daylight all year.
Is it daylight saving time or daylight savings time?
Although many people add an "s" when they say it, DST is short for daylight saving time, not daylight savings time.
Which parts of Canada use daylight saving time?
The majority of Canada observes daylight saving time, including all of Alberta, Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces. Most of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia follow it, although there are some regional exceptions there and in the northern territories.
Saskatchewan is the only province that remains on central standard time year-round, although the Lloydminster area follows Alberta's Mountain Time zone.
Is Canada getting rid of daylight saving time?
Parts of Canada, like the Yukon, Saskatchewan, and areas in Quebec, and British Colombia, already don't set their clocks back and more of Canada may be following suit in the future.
The decision of whether or not to participate in daylight saving time is up to provincial legislation, so while some areas in Canada may not participate in the tradition, others still do.
Ontario has continuously been fighting to end daylight saving time within the province, but without the support of its neighbours in Quebec and New York, the change won't be coming any time soon.
In November 2020, Ontario passed Bill 214 to make daylight saving time the standard all year. In 2021 Ontario MPP Jeremy Roberts sent a letter to New York's governor asking for her administration to institute similar legislation to end the time change tradition in New York.
But until Ontario gets New York and Quebec on board, Ontarians will have to stick out the bi-annual tradition and change their clocks.
In 2019, B.C. passed legislation to stop changing the clocks and keep daylight saving time year-round on the contingency that Washington state, Oregon and California also do the same.
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have seen several bills over the years that aim to make daylight saving time permanent, but they haven't been able to pass anything in both houses to make the idea a law. The bills are often presented in March when the unpopular "spring forward" time change happens, only to be delayed after people make the switch.
The latest bill, called the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023, remains stalled in Congress.
All that is to say that daylight saving time won't change until the biggest U.S. states make the first move.
When does daylight saving time start in 2024?
Daylight saving time will return for much of Canada on Sunday, March 10, 2024. The time will change early in the morning before most people wake up.
The end of daylight saving time will be most noticeable if you're typically outside for sunrise or sunset over the weekend.
In Toronto, Ontario, after the clocks go back an hour, the sun will rise at 6:58 a.m., and the sun will set at 5:03 p.m. on November 5, according to Time and Date.
In Vancouver, British Colombia, the sun will rise at 7:06 a.m. and set at 4:44 p.m. on November 5, so if you're working a nine-to-five job, the sun will be gone before your work day is even over.
In Calgary, the sun will rise at 7:35 a.m., and sunset will be at 5:03 p.m. on November 5.
When the clocks go back on November 5 in Yellowknife, the sun will rise at 8:22 a.m., and the sun will set at 4:18 p.m., making for a short and not-so-sunny day.
In Iqaluit, the sun will rise at 7:27 a.m. on November 5, with sunset at 3:07 p.m.
St.John's, Newfoundland will see the sunrise at 6:50 a.m. on November 5 and sunset at 4:37 p.m.
In Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, the sun will rise at 6:58 a.m. on November 5 and set at 4:52 p.m.
Halifax will see sunrise at 6:57 a.m. on November 5 and sunset at 4:58 p.m.
The sun will rise at 7:12 a.m. in Fredericton on November 5, and the sun will set at 5:07 p.m.
In Montreal, on November 5, sunrise will be at 6:39 a.m., sunset will be at 4:36 p.m.
Winnipeg will see sunrise at 7:24 a.m. and sunset at 4:59 p.m. on November 5.
So if you live in a city where the time will change this fall, enjoy your extra hour of sleep and don't forget to set your clock!
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
