Daylight time: When will clocks spring forward an hour?

York University Professor Patricia Lakin Thomas weighs the pros and cons of daylight saving time.

Get ready to lose an hour of sleep thanks to daylight time, which goes into effect this weekend.

For most Canadians, the annual clock change begins on Sunday, March 8, at 2 a.m. local time. That’s when the official time will jump forward by an hour in order to prolong sunlight during the evening in spring and summer. Sunday will also mark the last ever time change in B.C.

If your smartphone is set to update the time and date, the change should be automatic. If you rely on an alarm clock or wristwatch to get you up in the morning, be sure to change the time before going to bed on Saturday, March 7.

Daylight time runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday of November, when clocks go back to standard time, giving us an extra hour of sleep.

Most Canadian provinces and territories currently change their clocks for daylight time, with the exceptions of Yukon, most of Saskatchewan, and some parts of Ontario, Quebec and Nunavut.

On Sunday, B.C. will officially move to permanent daylight time, which will permanently end biannual clock changes in the province. B.C. communities that use mountain time like Alberta will not be impacted.

Cancelling clock changes

There are increasing calls to end biannual clock changes. A 2025 study linked seasonal clock changes to a higher risk of obesity and stroke and highlighted other effects like an increase in heart attacks and fatal traffic accidents. In part, that’s because time changes impact our circadian rhythm, which is the natural internal clock that regulates physiological processes like digestion, hormone release and wakefulness.

“When you move your social clock even by an hour, you’re putting yourself in a one-hour jet lag,” York University biology professor Patricia Lakin-Thomas previously told CTVNews.ca. “On a public health basis, the whole population would be a little bit healthier if we went to year-round standard time.”

Although Canada’s provinces and territories are responsible for setting timekeeping rules, in 2025 Liberal MP Marie-France Lalonde introduced a private member’s bill to halt seasonal clock changes.

“I would like to bring in experts and sectors that are most impacted, and Canadians to come and speak on this practice – parents, young persons, we need to talk about it,” Lalonde previously told CTVNews.ca. “We can hopefully come to a consensus to have an agreement that we stop changing our time twice a year.”

In 2020, Ontario passed legislation to permanently remain on daylight time, but only if bordering Quebec and New York state follow suit. A 2024 public consultation in Quebec showed overwhelming support for year-round daylight time. While U.S. states have the power to switch to permanent standard time, federal law currently prohibits the adoption of permanent daylight time.

While B.C. initially planned to wait for Washington, Oregon and California to make a similar move to permanent daylight time when legislation was first tabled in 2019, the province is now going at it alone.

“When we change our clocks twice a year it creates all kinds of problems,” B.C. Premier David Eby told reporters on Monday. “We’re also going to make decisions right now where British Columbia decides what’s best for us.”

With files from CTV News Vancouver and CTVNews.ca journalist Aarjavee Raaj