Operational Trends
On November 1, many Canadians and Americans will turn their clocks back an hour. But this year, a growing number won’t.
British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories are all moving to permanent time and will keep their clocks where they are. Yukon and most of Saskatchewan already observe the same time year-round. Meanwhile, most of Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada, and the United States will continue changing their clocks as usual.
The result is a new patchwork of time differences across Canada and the U.S. Long-standing assumptions such as “we’re always three hours apart” may no longer be accurate.
Apparently, agreeing on what time it is was too easy.
Why This Matters
For organizations working across provinces, countries, and broadcast markets, a one-hour error can mean a missed meeting, an incorrectly scheduled interview, or a program airing at the wrong time.
Calendar platforms are being updated to reflect the new rules, but recurring invitations, scheduling links, and older software may not all adjust smoothly. The greatest risk is assumption: seeing “Pacific time” or “Mountain time” and believing it means the same thing everywhere.
Next Steps
Before November 1st:
- Review recurring meetings involving people in different provinces, states, or countries
- Confirm the time-zone settings in your calendar and scheduling links
- Include the UTC offset—not just a time-zone name—when communicating important times
- Consider adding a note to invitations such as, “Time-change rules vary by region this November. Please confirm your local time”
- Double-check broadcast, interview, and event times rather than relying on the usual time difference
For an overview of how time observance is changing across Canada, read the article linked below.
If you regularly coordinate across time zones like I do, what part of this change is most likely to complicate your schedule?
Shannon McAllister
Director of Operations | shannon@eaglecom.ca