Toronto, get ready to “fall back” and either opt for an extra hour of Halloween partying or sleep this weekend!
Daylight Saving Time officially comes to an end in the early hours of Sunday, November 1, marking the annual return to standard time across the GTA.
This means we’ll get to enjoy brighter mornings alongside the arrival of noticeably earlier evening sunsets. While that extra hour of sleep is always a welcome treat, the ritual continues to spark debate over whether the biannual clock swap should be retired for good.
Select parts of Northwestern Ontario, such as Atikokan and Pickle Lake, have officially just adopted year-round standard time, making Daylight Saving Time permanent. Across the rest of the province, Queen’s Park actually passed legislation back in 2020 (Bill 214, the Time Amendment Act) to also make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
However, Toronto won’t be ditching the time change just yet. The provincial government included a key condition: Ontario will only enact permanent daylight time only once neighbouring Quebec and New York State commit to doing the same. Because the city serves as Canada’s financial hub, staying aligned with Wall Street and international transport corridors remains critical to avoid cross-border trade headaches and air travel disruption.
For the meantime, the official switch takes place at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, when clocks will turn back one hour to 1:00 a.m. Most smartphones and computers will handle the transition automatically, but make sure to wind back manual watches and kitchen appliances before heading to bed on Saturday night.
