Some Ottawa residents would like Ontario to follow western provinces and do away with the twice-yearly changing of the clock between standard and daylight saving time.
Manitoba became the most recent to stay on daylight time last month in the footsteps of Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
With Ontario to set the clocks back one hour to standard time on Nov. 1 — until next spring — some residents told Capital Current the constant switching is unnecessary.
Ontario is among the provinces and territories in Eastern Canada that have yet to adopt a permanent standard time (PST). [Image © Theo Manto]
Larry Orr, owner of The Log Farm, an Ottawa family-run “agri-tourism” operation for more than 10 years, says, “From the perspective of us farmers, changing the clocks serves no purpose and hasn’t for a long time.”
Marc Just, a farmer from Alexandria, Ont., says that he’d “rather not see the time change.”
Just says that he, along with many other farmers work as long as there is light regardless of when that is.
“When it’s dark out I don’t work and when it’s light out I do.”
Eighty-four per cent of Ontario voters favour staying with one permanent time, standard or daylight saving time, according to an Angus Reid Institute survey from March 2026.
The province has passed the Time Amendment Act in November 2020, giving it the ability to move to permanent standard time. However, until Quebec and New York State make the switch, the Doug Ford government says Ontario will not move forward.
Then-Conservative MPP Jeremy Roberts, who sponsored the Act, said at the time that acting independently from Quebec and American neighbours would cause more harm than good. He said the shared workforce across the Ottawa River, as well as “maintaining the commercial advantage” of Ontario’s trade networks with New York, were important.
More than 26 per cent of working Gatineau residents have jobs in Ontario, according to Statistics Canada.
Jon Stewart, publisher of The Equity in Shawville, Que. says changing Ontario’s time zone independently would be a problem for those who regularly cross the provincial border.
“Living in a border community means that there’s a lot that ties us together, and having different time zones between the two provinces could mean everything from daycare headaches for people who have to readjust their schedule to businesses staying open later for an audience that’s in a different time zone,” Stewart told Capital Current.
The Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers agrees, saying in an email, “our members who live and work in the Capital Region and commute across the Ottawa River may face logistical challenges.” But PAFSO also noted that foreign service workers have the experience of working across multiple time zones.
Ottawans weigh in
Ottawa resident Norma Abourizk says she finds the twice-yearly time change “unnecessary.”
She said the darker evenings in the winter cause seasonal depression, leading to more time in the house rather than outside soaking up the sun.
“If it stays light longer [in the evening], then you spend more time outside,” Abourizk said.
The time changes “throw people out of whack” twice a year and they’re not needed, Ottawa-area farmer Marc Just says. [Photo © Sara Gross]
The first ever daylight saving took place in Thunder Bay, Ont. in 1908 in an effort to make the most out of sunlight, according to timeanddate.com.
The first country to implement a nationwide legislation of daylight saving was Germany in 1916, with the decision seen as a way to preserve the fuel needed to power “artificial lights” during wartime.
A Manitoba government report says, for example, that some studies have found that the “spring forward” time change can lead to increases in the number of heart attacks, traffic collisions and workplace injuries in the days following.
The report concludes that “eliminating the biannual clock change would be better for population health than maintaining the status quo.”
Abourzik said she’d like time to be kept consistent, as she finds the clock changes lead to sleep deprivation and stress.
Kim Thompson said she finds the whole concept of changing the clock twice a year “futile.”
“Let’s end it. Because I think other provinces have ended it, so let’s do it in Ontario,” Thompson said.
University students Julian Sanchez from New York City and Julia Zhao from Ottawa said making the change to a permanent standard time would make life easier.
“You gotta change your whole schedule … it is a little bit of a hassle,” Sanchez said.