VICTORIA: British Columbia will end twice-yearly clock changes and move to permanent, year-round daylight saving time after one final “spring forward” on March 8, 2026, the provincial government said. Under the plan, most residents will advance clocks by one hour on March 8 as usual, but the province will not “fall back” on Nov. 1, 2026, eliminating the next scheduled time change. The government said the shift is intended to reduce routine disruptions and simplify scheduling for households and workplaces.
The province said the transition will be completed on Nov. 1, 2026, when clocks would normally be turned back but will instead remain unchanged. British Columbia’s new time zone name will be Pacific time, set at seven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC-7, matching the offset the province currently uses during daylight saving time. Officials said keeping that offset year-round will provide an extra hour of evening light during winter months and avoid the biannual reset that affects work, school and travel schedules.
Some parts of the province will keep their longstanding local time practices in accordance with municipal charters, the government said. In northeastern British Columbia, communities that already observe Mountain Standard Time, UTC-7, year-round will continue to do so, including Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson and the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality, Chetwynd, Hudson’s Hope, Taylor and Tumbler Ridge, with Fort Ware cited as an exception that uses Pacific time. In southeastern British Columbia, the East Kootenay and Golden region will remain aligned with Alberta and continue switching between UTC-7 in winter and UTC-6 in summer, including Golden, Cranbrook, Fernie, Sparwood, Invermere, Kimberley, Radium Hot Springs and Elkford.
Business reaction divided
The BC Chamber of Commerce welcomed the move, calling it a long-sought step that removes recurring operational friction for employers. The chamber said the twice-yearly change has been a persistent source of scheduling disruption and administrative burden, particularly for shift-based operations and small businesses. Jen Riley, the chamber’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement that the disruption is felt across workplaces and households, and that ending the clock change addresses a practical problem raised by members for years.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade criticized the decision as a unilateral move without confirmed coordination from neighbouring jurisdictions, warning it could complicate operations for companies that rely on cross-border and interprovincial schedules. In a statement, board president and chief executive officer Bridgitte Anderson called the shift “an unwelcome distraction” and said it would create “an additional headache” for businesses operating on both sides of the border. The board said it supports ending time changes but has emphasized staying synchronized with key partners where possible.
Legal framework and preparation
The government said the legal framework for a permanent move was established by the Interpretation Amendment Act, which became law in 2019 following a provincewide public engagement on time observance. The 2019 engagement drew 223,273 completed surveys, and the province reported that 93% of respondents supported adopting year-round daylight saving time. The act also set out the renaming of the province’s time zone as Pacific time and preserved the ability of certain communities in the North and Kootenays to observe mountain time. The province said it did not bring the framework into force at that time to coordinate timing with neighbouring jurisdictions.
Officials said a regulation will bring the amendments into effect after March 8, 2026, and that the province will work with organizations, small businesses and public-sector partners between March and November 2026 to support a coordinated transition. The government said most people will see clocks advance automatically on March 8 and will not need to adjust on Nov. 1, 2026, when no change will be made. Pacific time will align with Yukon year-round, match Alberta and other regions observing Mountain Standard Time from November through March, and align with Pacific daylight time jurisdictions from March through November. – By Content Syndication Services.