Did you enjoy the extra hour? Clocks across most of the province fell back at 2 a.m. today, Sunday, Nov. 1, and if Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has his way, you may never have to do it again. On Wednesday, he wrote that this weekend would “very likely” be the last time Quebecers turn back their clocks. Here’s what the government has actually promised, what it still has to decide and why the Quebec time change debate is harder than it looks.
What the premier said
According to CTV News, St-Pierre Plamondon took to social media on Oct. 28 to say his party has taken a stand against the twice-yearly switch several times, pointing to studies showing it is counterproductive for health and hard on children. He said his government plans to act “properly and intelligently” by consulting specialists through a parliamentary committee in the coming months, with the goal of deciding whether Quebec stays on daylight time or standard time.
In other words: no bill yet, no date, and no decision on the most important question. But it’s the clearest commitment any Quebec premier has made on the issue.
Quebecers already voted, sort of
This isn’t the first attempt. In October 2024, then-justice minister Simon Jolin-Barrette of the CAQ launched a public consultation on abolishing the time change. The results, released in March 2025, were overwhelming: of more than 214,000 respondents, 91 per cent wanted to end the switch, and 72 per cent wanted to stay on daylight (summer) time year-round. As CTV reported in March, the CAQ government said analyses were ongoing but never committed to a timeline, and nothing came of it.
The Quebec time change dilemma: summer or winter time?
Ending the switch is popular. Choosing which time to keep is where it gets complicated.
- Permanent daylight time is what most Quebecers asked for, and what British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba chose when they ended the practice this year, along with the Northwest Territories. It means brighter evenings, but very dark winter mornings.
- Permanent standard time is what health researchers tend to favour. A recent analysis in the Canadian Medical Association Journal concluded that the evidence supports standard time because it better matches the body’s rhythm. The catch: at the summer solstice in Montreal, the sun would rise around 4 a.m. and set around 7:45 p.m.
Experts have linked the switch itself to more traffic accidents, a higher risk of stroke and lost productivity, so either choice would remove the twice-a-year jolt.
The neighbours matter
Quebec doesn’t live in a vacuum. Ontario passed a law in 2020 to stay on permanent daylight time, but it only takes effect if Quebec and New York State do the same, and Ontario has said coordination with its neighbours is essential. Parts of northwestern Ontario are already set to stay on daylight time to match Manitoba. Saskatchewan hasn’t changed its clocks since 1966, Yukon stopped in 2020, and a small region of eastern Quebec already stays on Atlantic standard time year-round.
Mismatches have real effects. Out West, permanent daylight time has already produced some quirky NHL start times. A Quebec-only choice could create similar headaches with Ontario and the U.S. Northeast, from TV schedules to cross-border business hours.
What happens next
For now, nothing changes: we’re on standard time until the spring. The next step is the parliamentary committee the premier described, where experts will weigh in. Only after that would the government table a bill and pick a time to keep. Watch for how it handles Ontario and New York, and whether it follows the public’s preference or the health evidence. Federally, a private member’s bill from Orléans MP Marie-France Lalonde, Bill C-248, calls for provinces and territories to coordinate an end to the switch, but it had not reached second reading as of March.
It’s also the latest early test of the new PQ government, which you can read about in our coverage of the PQ swearing-in and cabinet day.
Your time-change to-do list
- Reset the clocks your phone can’t: the oven, the microwave and the car.
- Fire departments recommend the time change as a reminder to test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
- Expect darker commutes home this week; wear something visible if you walk or bike.
- Need a refresher on how this weekend’s switch works across Canada? See our time change explainer.
For more on Quebec politics and daily life, follow our News section. Bon dimanche, et profitez de la lumière!
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Photo: Michael Vesia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sources: CTV News Montreal (Oct. 28), CTV News Montreal (March 3), CTV News Montreal (consultation), CTV News (productivity), CTV News Calgary
