For the first time in more than a century, parts of Northwestern Ontario will not fall back one hour on November 1, while the rest of the province returns to standard time.
The historic change comes after Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced the province’s decision to permanently adopt Central Daylight Time (CDT) in mid-September, leading to concern that Northwestern Ontario communities located west of the 90th meridian, which observe Central Time, would be stranded on its own time island: one hour behind Manitoba and the rest of Ontario.
“We were caught off guard by Manitoba’s announcement,” Fort Frances Mayor Andrew Hallikas told the CBC. “There wasn’t any warning. All of a sudden we learned from the news that Manitoba was going to stay permanently on daylight savings time.”
This raised concerns. How would communities near the provincial border and 90th meridian know what time to rely on? How would cross-border flight and public transit schedules be impacted? Doctor appointments? Businesses? Many in the region worried they would be left in the past. In fact, municipal and First Nations leaders from northwestern communities met in late September to share survey results that showed more than 90 per cent of residents were in favour of joining Manitoba’s time zone.
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Following rapid mobilization among affected communities and the overwhelming consensus, MPP for Kenora—Rainy River, Greg Rickford, took the issue to Queen’s Park, and on October 13 he announced that the province will introduce a regulatory change to the Time Act, with the amendment to take effect on November 1.
“Through formal and informal polling, positions set out by First Nations leadership and community resolutions, it was abundantly clear: we’re not changing our clocks,” says Rickford in a press release. “[…] Standing with the people of Northwestern Ontario, our government is supporting a practical, regionally driven solution that reflects the overwhelming consensus to align with Manitoba, bringing clarity and certainty to the Northwest.”
This means that over the winter, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Northwest Ontario will share the same time zone, but when clocks spring forward in March, Northwest Ontario and Winnipeg will be one hour behind Toronto. The decision follows a broader trend emerging across Canada. In March, B.C permanently moved to Pacific Standard Time and Alberta has committed to year-round Mountain Time.
Communities that are adopting permanent CDT include popular cottage regions such as Lake of the Woods, Rainy Lake, and Fort Frances. This means that, come summer, those travelling from Kenora, Winnipeg, or other Manitoba regions will not be impacted by a time zone change, but those coming from east of the 90th meridian will finally have an airtight excuse for why they arrived an hour late to the cottage.
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