B.C. to adopt permanent daylight time after clocks spring forward March 8

When British Columbians move their clocks ahead an hour on Sunday, March 8, 2026, they will be doing it for the last time.

The Province announced on March 2 that B.C. will adopt permanent, year-round daylight saving time. The new zone will be called Pacific time and set at UTC-7, the same offset the province uses in summer. For Vancouver and the rest of Metro Vancouver, that means the clocks set on March 8 will simply stay put. On Nov. 1, when they would usually fall back, they will not, which gives people and businesses about eight months to prepare.

Premier David Eby said changing clocks twice a year causes chaos in busy lives. Attorney General Niki Sharma said the government has heard from an overwhelming majority of people who want seasonal time changes to end. The Province points to a 2019 public engagement that drew a record 223,000 participants, 93% of whom supported year-round daylight saving time.

The legal groundwork dates to that year, when the Interpretation Amendment Act became law. The government chose not to bring it into force then, so B.C. could change time in step with neighbouring U.S. states in the same time zone. The Province now says recent U.S. actions have changed how B.C. approaches alignment decisions, including on time zones, and that Washington, Oregon and California are creating or enacting similar legislation. A regulation will bring the amendments into effect after March 8.

Pacific time will match the Yukon all year. From November to March, it will also match Alberta and other mountain standard time regions.

Not every community will follow. Northeastern B.C. communities on year-round mountain standard time will stay there, effectively aligning with the rest of the province under the new arrangement. Fort Ware, home to Kwadacha Nation, is an exception and uses Pacific time. Southeastern communities such as Cranbrook and Golden will stay aligned with Alberta, switching between UTC-7 in winter and UTC-6 in summer. Local governments keep the power to decide which time zone they observe.

IT experts have cautioned that the change could cause problems such as missed surgeries, late deliveries and muddled meeting times, according to Vancouver Is Awesome. The Province's announcement sets Nov. 1 as the first date when B.C. clocks would usually change but will not.