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Time in Canada

Canada spans six time zones: Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern, Atlantic, and Newfoundland. Most regions within the country’s provinces and territories observe standard time from November to March and switch to daylight saving time during the rest of the year. These time zones were established based on proposals by Scottish Canadian railway engineer Sandford Fleming, who introduced the 24-hour clock, the global time zone system, and a standard prime meridian to coordinate time worldwide.

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Official time

Main article: National Research Council Time Signal

The National Research Council (NRC) maintains Canada's official time through the use of atomic clocks.3 The official time is specified in legislation passed by the individual provinces. In Quebec it is based on coordinated universal time.4 The other provinces use mean solar time.567 The NRC provides both coordinated universal time and mean solar time in its signals.8 It makes time servers available for direct synchronization with computers. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation aired a daily time signal, the National Research Council Time Signal, beginning November 5, 1939.9 The signal was discontinued on October 15, 2023.10

Time notation

Main article: Date and time notation in Canada § Time

The Government of Canada recommends use of the 24-hour clock (e.g. 15:57), which is widely used in contexts such as transportation schedules, parking meters, and data transmission.11 Speakers of Canadian French predominantly use this system, but most Canadian English speakers use the 12-hour clock in everyday speech (e.g. 3:57 pm), even when reading from a 24-hour display, similar to the use of the 24-hour clock in the United Kingdom.

Zones

Pacific Time Zone

Pacific Standard Time (PST) UTC−08:00 and Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) UTC−07:00:

Mountain Time Zone

Mountain Standard Time (MST) UTC−07:00 and Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) UTC−06:00:

Mountain Standard Time (MST) UTC−07:00 year-round:

Central Time Zone

Central Standard Time (CST) UTC−06:00 and Central Daylight Time CDT UTC−05:00:

Central Standard Time (CST) UTC−06:00 year-round:

  • Saskatchewan (most of the province) (see Lloydminster, and Creighton, above)

Eastern Time Zone

Eastern Standard Time (EST) UTC−05:00 and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) UTC−04:00:

  • Nunavut
  • Ontario
    • east of 90° West (except the Big Trout Lake area), plus
    • west of 90° West: Shebandowan and Upsala areas
  • Quebec (most of province)
    • Areas of Labrador adjacent to Schefferville (in Quebec but very close to the Labrador border) observe EST and DST unofficially

Eastern Standard Time (EST) UTC−05:00 year-round:

Atlantic Time Zone

Atlantic Standard Time (AST) UTC−04:00 and Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT) UTC−03:00:

Atlantic Standard Time (AST) UTC−04:00 year-round:

Newfoundland Time Zone

Newfoundland Standard Time (NST) UTC−03:30 and Newfoundland Daylight Time (NDT) UTC−02:30:

Former time zones

  • The Yukon Time Zone (UTC−09:00) covered most of Yukon from 1900 until 1966. In 1973, the last portions of Yukon switched to Pacific Time, leaving UTC−09:00 unused in Canada.
  • In 1988, Newfoundland observed "double daylight saving time" from April 3 until October 30, meaning that the time was set ahead by 2 hours.19 All of Newfoundland and southern Labrador, which observes UTC−03:30 as its standard time zone, observed UTC−01:30.20 This only happened in 1988 and the province now only adjusts its time by one hour for daylight saving time.

Daylight saving time

Main article: Daylight saving time in Canada

Four Canadian cities, by local ordinance, observed daylight saving time in 1916. Brandon, Manitoba, adopted it on April 17. It was followed by Winnipeg on April 23, Halifax on April 30, and Hamilton, Ontario, on June 4.21 Port Arthur, Ontario, was the first place in the world to introduce it, on July 1, 1908.

Daylight saving time is currently observed in nine of ten provinces and two of three territories, with exceptions in several provinces and Nunavut. Most of the province of Saskatchewan, despite geographically being in the Mountain Time Zone, observes year-round CST. In 2020, the territory of Yukon abandoned seasonal time change and moved to permanently observing MST year-round.22 Under the Constitution of Canada, laws related to timekeeping are a purely provincial matter. In practice, since the late 1960s DST across Canada has been closely or completely synchronized with its observance in the United States to promote consistent economic and social interaction. When the United States extended DST in 1987 to the first Sunday in April, all DST-observing Canadian provinces followed suit to mimic the change.

In 2019, the legislature of British Columbia began the process of eliminating the practice of observing daylight saving time in the province. On October 31, 2019, the government introduced Bill 40 in the legislature, which would define "Pacific Time" as "7 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)".23 In a press release, the provincial government stated an intention to maintain alignment of clock time with Washington, Oregon, California, and Yukon.24 The move follows a consultation earlier in 2019, in which the province received over 223,000 responses, 93% of which said they would prefer year-round DST as compared to the status quo of changing the clocks twice a year.252627 The premier of British Columbia discussed the issue with Yukon premier Sandy Silver, who said in October that he needs more consultation with Yukon stakeholders, and with Alberta and Alaska.28

The latest United States change (Energy Policy Act of 2005) to daylight saving time, adding parts of March and November to when daylight saving time is observed, which began in 2007 was adopted by the various provinces and territories on the following dates:

  • Ontario29 and Manitoba30 – October 20, 2005
  • Quebec – December 5, 200531
  • Prince Edward Island – December 6, 200532
  • New Brunswick – December 23, 200533
  • Alberta – February 2, 200634
  • Northwest Territories – March 4, 200635
  • British Columbia – March 31, 200636
  • Nova Scotia – April 25, 200637
  • Yukon – July 14, 2006.38 Year-round MST as of March 8, 2020.39
  • Newfoundland and Labrador – November 20, 2006, but officially announced on January 18, 200740
  • Nunavut – February 19, 200741
  • Saskatchewan – No official action was taken, as almost all of the province remains on CST year-round. However, the few places in the province that do observe daylight saving (Lloydminster and the surrounding area, which straddles the Alberta border and observes Alberta's Mountain Time – and Creighton, which observes daylight saving on an unofficial basis due to its proximity to the border with Manitoba) follow the aforementioned March–November schedule just like the other provinces and territories.

IANA time zone database

Data for Canada from zone.tab of the IANA time zone database. Columns marked with * are the columns from zone.tab itself.

C.c.*Coordinates*TZ*Comments*UTC offsetUTC offset DSTNotesMap
CA+4734−05243America/St_JohnsNewfoundland, Labrador (SE)−03:30−02:30Areas that use UTC−3:30 with daylight savings time.
CA+4439−06336America/HalifaxAtlantic – NS (most areas), PE−04:00−03:00Areas that use UTC−4:00 with daylight savings time.

In addition to NS and PE, also includes two areas of Quebec: Magdalen Islands and Listuguj Miꞌgmaq First Nation42

CA+4612−05957America/Glace_BayAtlantic – NS (Cape Breton)−04:00−03:00Areas that use UTC−4:00 and adopted daylight savings time in 1972.

Now in sync with America/Halifax.

Likely includes all of Cape Breton Island.43

CA+4606−06447America/MonctonAtlantic – New Brunswick−04:00−03:00Areas that use UTC−4:00 with daylight savings time but prior to 2007 started and ended daylight savings time at 12:01 am rather than 2:00 am.

Now in sync with America/Halifax.

CA+5320−06025America/Goose_BayAtlantic – Labrador (most areas)−04:00−03:00Areas that use UTC−4:00 with daylight savings time but from 1987–2011 started and ended daylight savings time at 12:01 am rather than 2:00 am.

Now in sync with America/Halifax.

Until 1966, it observed Newfoundland Time.

CA+5125−05707America/Blanc-SablonAST – QC (Lower North Shore)−04:00−04:00Redirects to America/Puerto_Rico.—
PR+182806−0660622America/Puerto_RicoAST – QC (Lower North Shore)−04:00−04:00Areas that have used UTC−4:00 year-round since the IANA cutoff date in 1970.

Legally defined as east of 63rd meridian west.44

CAAmerica/Montreal−05:00−04:00Redirects to America/Toronto as of version 2015c.—
CA+4339−07923America/TorontoEastern – ON & QC (most areas)−05:00−04:00Areas that use UTC−5:00 with daylight savings time.

Legally, its western boundary is the 90th meridian west but in practice, it is not observed by Big Trout Lake. Adoption of daylight savings time in Ontario may have been patchy until 1974.

CAAmerica/Nipigon−05:00−04:00Redirects to America/Toronto as of version 2022f.

Created for places using Eastern time that allegedly did not observe DST 1967–1973, but this was not well sourced.

—
CAAmerica/Thunder_Bay−05:00−04:00Redirects to America/Toronto.

Created because of a claim that Thunder Bay did not use DST in 1973.

—
CA+6344−06828America/IqaluitEastern – NU (most areas)−05:00−04:00Areas that use UTC−5:00 with daylight savings time but observed Atlantic Time until 1995.

Now in sync with America/Toronto.

CAAmerica/Pangnirtung−05:00−04:00Redirects to America/Iqaluit.—
CA+744144−0944945America/ResoluteCentral – NU (Resolute)−06:00−05:00Areas that use UTC−6:00 with daylight savings time and skipped daylight savings time in 2007.

Now in sync with America/Winnipeg.

CA+484531−0913718America/AtikokanEST – ON (Atikokan), NU (Coral H)−05:00−05:00Redirects to America/Panama

Created because it is legally in Central Time but in practice observes EST year-round.

—
PA+0858−07932America/PanamaEST – ON (Atikokan), NU (Coral H)−05:00−05:00Areas that have used UTC−5:00 year-round since the IANA cutoff date in 1970.
CA+624900−0920459America/Rankin_InletCentral – NU (central)−06:00−05:00Now in sync with America/Winnipeg.
CA+4953−09709America/WinnipegCentral – ON (west), Manitoba−06:00−05:00Areas that use UTC−6:00 with daylight savings time.

In practice, includes Big Trout Lake and Denare Beach, though by law they should be in America/Toronto and America/Regina, respectively.

CAAmerica/Rainy_River−06:00−05:00Redirects to America/Winnipeg as of version 2022f.

Created for places using Central Time that allegedly did not observe daylight savings time from 1967–1973, but this is not well sourced.

—
CA+5024−10439America/ReginaCST – SK (most areas)−06:00−06:00Areas that have used UTC−6:00 year-round since the IANA cutoff date in 1970.
CA+5017−10750America/Swift_CurrentCST – SK (midwest)−06:00−06:00Areas that use UTC−6:00 year-round but used Mountain Time until 1972.

Now in sync with America/Regina.

CA+5333−11328America/EdmontonMountain – AB, BC(E), NT(E), SK(W)−07:00−06:00Areas that use UTC−7:00 with daylight savings time.
CA+690650−1050310America/Cambridge_BayMountain – NU (west)−07:00−06:00Now in sync with America/Edmonton.
CAAmerica/Yellowknife−07:00−06:00Redirects to America/Edmonton.—
CA+682059−1334300America/InuvikMountain – NT (west)−07:00−06:00Areas that use UTC−7:00 with daylight savings time but observed Pacific Time until 1979.

Now in sync with America/Edmonton.

Defined as areas in NWT west of 120th meridian west.45

CA+4906−11631America/CrestonMST – BC (Creston)−07:00−07:00Redirects to America/Phoenix.—
US+332654−1120424America/PhoenixMST – AZ (most areas), Creston BC−07:00−07:00Areas that have used UTC−7:00 year-round since the IANA cutoff date in 1970.
CA+5546−12014America/Dawson_CreekMST – BC (Dawson Cr, Ft St John)−07:00−07:00Areas that use UTC−7:00 year-round but used daylight savings time until 1973.

Now in sync with America/Phoenix.

CA+5848−12242America/Fort_NelsonMST – BC (Ft Nelson)−07:00−07:00Areas that use UTC−7:00 year-round but used daylight savings time until 2015.

Now in sync with America/Phoenix.

CA+4916−12307America/VancouverPacific – BC (most areas)−08:00−07:00Areas that use UTC−8:00 with daylight savings time.
CA+6043−13503America/WhitehorseMST – Yukon (east)−07:00−07:00Areas that use UTC−7:00 year-round but used daylight savings time until 2019.

Now in sync with America/Phoenix.

CA+6404−13925America/DawsonMST – Yukon (west)−07:00−07:00Areas that use UTC−7:00 year-round but observed Pacific Time until 1973 and used daylight savings time until 2019.

Now in sync with America/Phoenix.

Includes all of Yukon west of 138th meridian west.<ref">Interpretation Ordinance, YCO 1967/59.</ref>

See also

Notes

References

  1. Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020. /wiki/Coordinated_Universal_Time ↩

  2. Creet, Mario (1990). "Sandford Fleming and Universal Time". Scientia Canadensis: Canadian Journal of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine. 14 (1–2): 66–89. doi:10.7202/800302ar. https://doi.org/10.7202%2F800302ar ↩

  3. "NRC time services". National Research Council. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018. https://nrc.canada.ca/en/certifications-evaluations-standards/canadas-official-time/nrc-time-services ↩

  4. National Assembly (1 January 2007). "Legal Time Act 2006". Retrieved 21 September 2020. http://canlii.ca/t/52mxx ↩

  5. Queen's Printer, St John's (2012). "Standard Time Act RSNL 1990". Retrieved 21 September 2020. By §2(1) "Time in the province shall be reckoned as 3 1/2 hours later [sic] than Greenwich mean solar time." http://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/s23.htm ↩

  6. Queen's Printer for Ontario (31 December 1990). "Time Act, R.S.O. 1990". Retrieved 21 September 2020. http://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90t09 ↩

  7. The Queen's Printer (26 February 1978). "The Time Act 1978" (PDF). Retrieved 21 September 2020. http://www.canlii.org/en/sk/laws/stat/rss-1978-c-t-14/latest/part-1/rss-1978-c-t-14-part-1.pdf ↩

  8. National Research Council (28 July 2020). "DUT1 announcement". Retrieved 21 September 2020. http://time5.nrc.ca/timefreq/bulletin_tf-b.html ↩

  9. Bartlett, Geoff (5 November 2014). "'The beginning of the long dash' indicates 75 years of official time on CBC". CBC News. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2018. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/the-beginning-of-the-long-dash-indicates-75-years-of-official-time-on-cbc-1.2823599 ↩

  10. Taekema, Dan (October 10, 2023). "The end of the long dash: CBC stops broadcasting official time signal". CBC News. Retrieved November 27, 2023. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/cbc-stops-broadcasting-national-research-council-long-dash-time-signal-1.6988903 ↩

  11. Collishaw, Barbara (2002). "FAQs on Writing the Time of Day". Terminology Update. 35 (3): 11. Archived from the original on 2018-07-14. Retrieved 2018-07-20. https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2guides/guides/favart/index-eng.html?lang=eng&lettr=indx_titls&page=9qo3G9wQtvTo.html ↩

  12. Includes the associated Cantung Mine and Tungsten (Cantung) Airport[12][1] /wiki/Cantung_Mine ↩

  13. Prairie Creek Airport, operated by Canadian Zinc, in southwest NWT, is shown as observing PST/PDT. North of Sixty Fishing Camps (Obre Lake/North of Sixty Airport) and Kasba Lake Lodge (Kasba Lake Airport) are shown as operating on CST/CDT.[1] /wiki/Prairie_Creek_Airport ↩

  14. Buckle, Anne (21 September 2015). "New Time Zone in Fort Nelson". Time and Date. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 21 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050955/http://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/fort-nelson-canada-time-zone.html ↩

  15. Kawaja, Cheryl (23 December 2024). "What time is it in Atlin, B.C.? It depends who you ask". CBC. Retrieved 23 December 2024. https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.7417317 ↩

  16. Kawaja, Cheryl (23 December 2024). "What time is it in Atlin, B.C.? It depends who you ask". CBC. Retrieved 23 December 2024. https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.7417317 ↩

  17. Legal time in Québec Archived 2011-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, Ministry of Justice of Quebec, April 20, 2015. http://www.justice.gouv.qc.ca/english/publications/generale/temps-situation-a.htm ↩

  18. Legal time in Québec Archived 2011-12-11 at the Wayback Machine, Ministry of Justice of Quebec, April 20, 2015. http://www.justice.gouv.qc.ca/english/publications/generale/temps-situation-a.htm ↩

  19. Benesh, Peter (1988-06-21). "Daylight Almost Until Midnight: Newfoundland Tries out Double Daylight-Saving Time". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2020-02-02. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1988-06-21-0050050237-story.html ↩

  20. Order re: Newfoundland Double Daylight Savings Time, 1988. O.C. 1404/87. Newfoundland Gazette, 1988-02-19, page 67. ↩

  21. Doris Chase Doane, Time Changes in Canada and Mexico, 2nd edition, 1972. ↩

  22. Government of Yukon (March 4, 2020). "Yukon to end seasonal time change". Retrieved September 23, 2020. https://yukon.ca/en/news/yukon-end-seasonal-time-change ↩

  23. "Bill 40 – 2019: Interpretation Amendment Act, 2019". Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-11-03. Retrieved 2019-11-03. https://www.leg.bc.ca/content/data%20-%20ldp/pages/41st4th/1st_read/gov40-1.htm ↩

  24. "Interpretation amendment act sets stage for year-round daylight time" (PDF) (Press release). British Columbia Office of the Premier / Ministry of Attorney General. 2019-10-31. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-11-03. Retrieved 2019-11-03. https://archive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/news_releases_2017-2021/2019PREM0118-002084.pdf ↩

  25. Chan, Cheryl (2019-09-11). "B.C. survey shows overwhelming support for permanent Daylight Saving Time". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2019-11-03. Retrieved 2019-11-03. https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-survey-shows-overwhelming-support-for-permanent-daylight-time ↩

  26. "Daylight Saving Time Public Consultation: Final Report" (PDF). 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-09-11. Retrieved 2019-11-03. https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/502/2019/09/Daylight-Saving-Time-Final-Report.pdf ↩

  27. "B.C.'s daylight saving survey gets more public engagement than marijuana regulation". CBC News. 2019-07-05. Archived from the original on 2019-07-07. Retrieved 2019-11-03. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/daylight-savings-poll-engagement-1.5200828 ↩

  28. Plonka, Gabrielle (2019-10-01). "B.C. premier meets with Silver, grand chief". Whitehorse Daily Star. Archived from the original on 2019-11-02. Retrieved 2019-11-03. https://www.whitehorsestar.com/News/b-c-premier-meets-with-silver-grand-chief ↩

  29. "Time Act". Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-11-25. http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90t09_e.htm ↩

  30. Province Introduces Legislation that Would Extend Daylight Saving Time in Manitoba Archived 2016-07-23 at the Wayback Machine (The Official Time Amendment Act Archived 2006-05-28 at the Wayback Machine,The Official Time Act Archived 2005-11-09 at the Wayback Machine) https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2005/11/2005-11-02-06.html ↩

  31. "Bill n°2 : Legal Time Act". Archived from the original on 2012-11-20. Retrieved 2012-02-14. http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/travaux-parlementaires/projets-loi/projet-loi-2-37-2.html ↩

  32. "An Act to Amend the Time Uniformity Act" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-08-23. Retrieved 2006-07-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20060823094715/http://assembly.pe.ca/bills/pdf_chapter/62/3/chapter-41.pdf ↩

  33. "Changes to daylight saving time in New Brunswick in 2007 (05/12/23)". Archived from the original on 2006-09-01. Retrieved 2006-05-18. http://www.gnb.ca/cnb/news/pre/2005e1737pr.htm ↩

  34. "Alberta sees the light with a timely announcement" (Press release). https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=193862BFE321E-A3D2-C519-F34B3EE936DA55E2 ↩

  35. Daylight Saving Time Regulations Archived 2014-04-19 at the Wayback Machine http://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/PDF/REGS/INTERPRETATION/Daylight_Sav_Time.pdf ↩

  36. "New Daylight Saving Time Takes Effect in 2007". Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2006-05-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20130411063909/http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2005-2009/2006AG0014-000330.htm ↩

  37. "Nova Scotia to Change Daylight Saving Time". Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2017-09-16. https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20060425004 ↩

  38. Yukon To Adopt Extended Daylight Saving Time Starting March 2007 Archived 2013-10-09 at the Wayback Machine http://www.gov.yk.ca/news/2006/06-164.html ↩

  39. Government of Yukon (March 4, 2020). "Yukon to end seasonal time change". Retrieved September 23, 2020. https://yukon.ca/en/news/yukon-end-seasonal-time-change ↩

  40. "An Act Respecting Standard Time and Daylight Time in the Province". Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2013-11-25. http://assembly.nl.ca/Legislation/sr/statutes/s23.htm ↩

  41. "Nunavut News/North "Nunavut to follow new seasonal time standard"". Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-11-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20131202235847/http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2007-02/feb19_07tm.html ↩

  42. Legal Time Act, CQLR c T-5.1, s 2. ↩

  43. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. "tzdb data for North and Central America and environs". Retrieved 21 September 2020. https://data.iana.org/time-zones/tzdb/northamerica ↩

  44. Legal Time Act, CQLR c T-5.1, s 2. ↩

  45. Interpretation Act, SC 1967–68, c 7, s 28, "standard time". ↩