End of an Era: B.C. to Stay on Daylight Saving Time Forever Starting Sunday

British Columbia is finally pulling the trigger on ending the biannual time change. The province announced today that after we spring forward this Sunday, March 8, 2026, the clocks will stay there forever.

The move marks the end of a years-long wait for B.C. to align with its southern neighbours. While the province passed the Interpretation Amendment Act back in 2019 to enable the shift, it had been holding out for Washington, Oregon, and California to act first. Today’s decision signals that Victoria is tired of waiting for the U.S. to sort out its own legislative hurdles.

What this means for your schedule

Starting this weekend, B.C. will permanently move to Pacific Time, which sits seven hours behind Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC-7).

In practical terms, this means you will have an extra hour of sunlight after work or school during the darkest months of the year. However, the trade-off is that winter mornings will stay dark much longer than we are currently used to in December and January. For travellers, from November to March, B.C. will now be aligned with Alberta time, while from March to November, we remain aligned with the U.S. West Coast.

The province is giving businesses and residents an eight-month lead time to prepare for November 1, 2026. This is the date we would normally “fall back,” but now the clocks will remain exactly where they are.

A challenge for tech giants

While the government focuses on the health benefits of stabilized sleep patterns, the transition creates a massive technical task for software developers. Operating systems are hard-coded with historical time zone rules, and in the past, sudden changes to Daylight Saving Time have caused “ghost alarms” and calendar glitches on smartphones, including the iPhone.

Let’s hope Apple remembers this change when the fall rolls around. The last thing Canadians need is a buggy OS that tries to fall back automatically on November 1 while the rest of the province stays put.

Regional exceptions

A few communities in Eastern B.C. that observe Mountain Time will not be forced to switch. However, the change actually brings more of the province into sync. Dawson Creek, which already observes Mountain Standard Time year-round, will now be perfectly aligned with the rest of B.C. every single day of the year.