What to know
- Northwestern Ontario, including Kenora and areas west of Thunder Bay, will stay on daylight saving time year-round starting Nov. 1, meaning residents won’t turn their clocks back.
- The Ontario government says the change will align the region with Manitoba, which announced on Sept. 17 that it would permanently observe daylight saving time.
- The decision aims to prevent disruptions for businesses, workers, families and Indigenous communities that share connections across the Ontario-Manitoba border.
- Ontario will continue to have two time zones. Communities west of the 90th meridian, including Kenora, will stay on daylight saving time, while communities east of it, including Thunder Bay, are expected to continue changing their clocks twice a year.
As we get closer to the day that daylight saving time ends next month, more parts of the country are opting out of the seasonal time change, with northwestern Ontario being the latest to stop the switch.
In a news release on Tuesday, the Ontario government announced that come Nov. 1, when daylight saving time is set to end, the northwestern part of the province would not need to change its clocks.
The areas affected include Kenora, Ont., and west of Thunder Bay.
The government said this new stagnation on permanent daylight saving time will help that part of the province align with Manitoba, and any business and/or labour between the two provinces.
Manitoba was one of multiple provinces and territories that also made a daylight saving time decision, with the prairie province opting to no longer turn clocks back, which they announced on Sept. 17, also staying on daylight saving time permanently.
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The expected change would be implemented on Nov. 1, so there is no disruption for businesses, families, and any Indigenous communities in Ontario’s central time zone.
Why align with Manitoba?
Manitoba and northwestern Ontario share business, labour, Indigenous communities, and family across the provincial borders.
Ontario’s Attorney General Doug Downey said this change was practical financially.
“By keeping this part of the province aligned with Manitoba, our government is taking a practical, common-sense approach to avoid unnecessary disruptions and ensure economic stability in communities that reside in Ontario’s central time zone,” Downey stated in the release.
The province also stated they spoke with community members, including Indigenous leaders, to ensure the seasonal time switch, or lack of change, worked for them.
“What has emerged is unanimous support across the region to move to permanent daylight saving time, and our government is proud to support the people of northwestern Ontario as we make this decision, together,” said Greg Rickford, minister of Indigenous affairs and First Nations economic reconciliation as well as the minister responsible for Ring of Fire economic and community partnerships.
Why does Ontario have two different time zones?
An unmarked north-south line, called the 90th meridian, splits northwestern Ontario into two different time zones. Towns east of this line, such as Thunder Bay, are expected to stay on eastern time and turn their clocks back in November, while towns west of the line, including Kenora, Ont., will stay on daylight saving time.
Ontario municipalities east of the meridian are within the eastern time zone and are expected to continue to change their clocks twice a year.
