Ontario announces permanent daylight saving time for northwestern parts of the province

The Ontario government will be making daylight saving time permanent in the parts of northwestern Ontario that have usually kept their clocks in sync with neighbouring Manitoba.

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The province plans to make a regulatory change under the Time Act on Nov. 1. The move was spurred on by Manitoba announcing plans to adopt permanent daylight saving time also beginning Nov. 1.

Ontario says the recently announced change for northwestern Ontario will keep that region aligned with Manitoba, avoiding disruption for businesses, families and Indigenous communities in Ontario’s central time zone.

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“Maintaining alignment with Manitoba would help businesses operate more efficiently across provincial boundaries, while making it easier for residents and service providers to coordinate activities such as health-care appointments and travel,” says the Ontario government in its Oct. 13 press release.

“Providing certainty and predictability is essential to supporting strong communities and a competitive economy,” states Attorney General Doug Downey in the release. “By keeping this part of the province aligned with Manitoba, our government is taking a practical … approach to avoid unnecessary disruptions and ensure economic stability in communities that reside in Ontario’s central time zone.”

This move follows considerable engagement with communities throughout northwestern Ontario, including Indigenous leaders. These consultations came in the wake of Manitoba’s move and revealed substantial support for maintaining alignment with Manitoba.

“Through the collective efforts of communities and First Nations across the northwest, we’ve led a process to build consensus,” Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation, said in the statement. “What has emerged is unanimous support across the region to move to permanent daylight saving time.”

Under the proposed change, affected communities in northwestern Ontario that currently change their clocks seasonally would not need to turn them back on Nov. 1. The affected communities in Ontario’s Central Time Zone, include Kenora, Dryden, Fort Frances, Sioux Lookout, Red Lake and Rainy River.

Communities in the Eastern Time Zone, such as Thunder Bay, will continue to fall back one hour on November 1st. That’s in line with the rest of Ontario, which is in the Eastern Time Zone.

Generally, daylight saving time has occurred during March to November, when clocks are moved one hour ahead of the standard time to increase evening daylight hours. Ontario has considered the switch to permanent daylight saving time for the entire province in The Time Amendment Act, 2020. But that legislation is not yet in force. For that to happen, Ontario says neighbouring Quebec and New York would have to make the change too.

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