B.C. won't turn clocks back on Nov. 1 as province adopts year-round Pacific Time

British Columbians will not set their clocks back an hour on Nov. 1, 2026, because the province is moving to a permanent year-round time. The Ministry of Citizens' Services said in a Sept. 17 news release that B.C. will use "PCT" as the abbreviation for its year-round time zone.

Pacific time in B.C. is set at UTC-7, the same offset the province uses during daylight saving time. In practice, the extra hour of evening light from the spring clock change becomes the year-round standard.

Why it matters

For most of the province, the change ends the twice-yearly clock switch. The fall change that would have happened on Nov. 1 will not take place, and winter evenings will have more daylight than they would have under the old system.

Minister of Citizens' Services Diana Gibson named health, fewer family disruptions, simplified scheduling and extra winter evening light as benefits of the change. Those are the government's own claims. A UBC nursing professor told Vancouver Is Awesome that similar policies have gone poorly in other places.

The move also lines B.C. up with the mountain time arrangements already in place in part of the province. UTC-7 is the offset used by northeastern B.C. communities that stay on mountain standard time year-round.

What we know

• The province announced on March 2, 2026 that it would adopt permanent year-round daylight saving time.
• The Interpretation Amendment Act, the legal framework for the change, became law in 2019. The government chose then not to bring it into force so it could co-ordinate with neighbouring U.S. states.
• According to the province's announcement, regulation was to bring the amendments into effect after the March 8, 2026 clock change.
• A 2019 provincial public engagement drew 223,273 participants. Of those, 93% supported year-round daylight saving time.
• Premier David Eby has said he hopes American neighbours will soon join B.C. in ending time changes. The province says Washington, Oregon and California are creating or enacting similar legislation.

Where mountain time still applies

Existing local mountain time arrangements in parts of northern and southeastern B.C. are unchanged.

• Northeastern B.C. communities on year-round mountain standard time (UTC-7) will continue to observe it.
• In the East Kootenay and Golden region, clocks currently switch between mountain standard and daylight time in line with Alberta. That will continue.
• Local governments keep the power to decide which time zone they observe.

What happens next

The first visible effect for most residents will be the absence of a clock change on Nov. 1. Residents in the East Kootenay and Golden region will keep following the seasonal schedule they use now.

The province's approach to neighbouring jurisdictions is the other thing to watch. Eby has said he hopes U.S. neighbours will soon join B.C. in ending time changes, and the province says Washington, Oregon and California are creating or enacting similar legislation.