The Quebec government says it plans to end the time change

Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon announced his government's intention to eliminate the practice of daylight saving time in the province. He stated that Quebec has not yet determined whether to continue daylight time year-round or revert to standard time. St-Pierre Plamondon posted on social media that residents will likely set their clocks back one hour for the last time this weekend.

He expressed that studies have shown the time change to be detrimental to health and difficult for children to adapt to. The premier plans to consult experts through a series of hearings before making a final decision on whether Quebec should adopt permanent summer or winter time. A parliamentary commission will be held on the subject.

According to the 2024 online consultation conducted by the previous Coalition Avenir Québec, 91 per cent of the 214,000 respondents favored ending the time change, while 72 per cent preferred to keep daylight time all year. However, the then-justice minister Simon Jolin-Barrette noted that the consultation also raised concerns such as expert opinions and coordination with neighboring jurisdictions.

In 2025, further deliberation and consultation were deemed necessary. Keeping daylight time throughout winter would result in a later sunset, but it would also mean sunrise an hour later during the shorter winter days, which could have negative effects, as per several experts. A recent analysis published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal concluded that health evidence supports transitioning to permanent standard time rather than daylight time, as it aligns better with the body's natural rhythm.

If Quebec were to abolish the time change, it would join several Canadian provinces that have already done so. These provinces include British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba, which all ended daylight saving this year. They also include the Northwest Territories, which maintains daylight time year-round, as does the portion of Ontario in the northwest to align with Manitoba.

In 2020, Ontario passed a law to make daylight time permanent, but it has not yet taken effect due to coordination with neighboring provinces like Quebec and New York. Saskatchewan has maintained the same time since 1966, while the Yukon ended the practice in 2020.