Clocks Go Back 2026: Who Changes and Who Skips It

The clocks go back 2026 date is not the same for everyone this year. Most of Europe falls back on Sunday, Oct. 25, the US and most of Canada follow on Sunday, Nov. 1, and a growing part of Western Canada skips the change altogether. I read the government pages, the time zone database notes and local news. Below is who changes when, how the hour gaps between cities shift, and what to check before Monday.

Because I wrote this on Oct. 24, some Canadian details are only days old.

Clocks go back 2026: the dates to know

First, the UK is the easiest to check. The government says the clocks go back one hour at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in October, which is Oct. 25 this year, per GOV.UK. Likewise, France does the same at 3 a.m., and 20 Minutes says every EU country changes together that day.

Next, the US and most of Canada wait one more week. Per timeanddate, clocks there go from 2 a.m. back to 1 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1. However, Hawaii and most of Arizona never change. Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand sit on the other side of the calendar, so they already moved forward this fall, on Sept. 27 for Auckland and Oct. 4 for Sydney, per timeanddate.

Where	Clocks go back	Next change
UK	Sun, Oct. 25 (2 a.m. to 1 a.m.)	Forward on Mar. 28, 2027
Most of Europe	Sun, Oct. 25	Forward in late March 2027
US (48 states)	Sun, Nov. 1 (2 a.m. to 1 a.m.)	Forward on Mar. 14, 2027
Most of Canada	Sun, Nov. 1	Forward on Mar. 14, 2027
Sydney and Auckland	Already forward (Oct. 4 and Sept. 27)	Back on Apr. 4, 2027

Also, “most of Canada” is doing a lot of work in that table. More on that below.

The one-week gap when Europe changes first

Since Europe goes first, for seven days the Atlantic gets a little narrower. From Oct. 25 to Oct. 31, London is only four hours ahead of New York instead of five. timeanddate notes that Europe ends daylight time a week before the US, but I did not find a ready-made chart of city gaps, so I worked these out from the official offsets.

First city is ahead by	Until Oct. 24	Oct. 25 to 31	From Nov. 1
London vs New York	5 h	4 h	5 h
London vs Los Angeles	8 h	7 h	8 h
London vs Vancouver	8 h	7 h	7 h
New York vs Vancouver	3 h	3 h	2 h
Sydney vs London	10 h	11 h	11 h
Sydney vs New York	15 h	15 h	16 h

Also, all of those gaps are my math. For example, a 3 p.m. London meeting shows as 10 a.m. in New York today, then 11 a.m. for the week of Oct. 26, then 10 a.m. again from Nov. 1. If your calendar pins the meeting to one city, the other side sees it hop an hour and hop back.

Clocks go back 2026, but not in parts of Canada

But this is the part I did not expect to write about. On Nov. 1, a big block of Western Canada stays exactly where it is.

Who falls back and who stays put

Place	Falls back Nov. 1?	What it keeps
British Columbia (most of it)	No	Daylight time all year since Mar. 8
Alberta	No	Permanent UTC-6, in place since June 18
Northwest Territories	No	Permanent UTC-6, in place since Aug. 21
Manitoba	No	Permanent UTC-5, announced Sept. 17
Kenora and northwestern Ontario	No (announced)	Matches Manitoba, announced Oct. 13
Yukon and Saskatchewan	No	They already stopped changing years ago
Rest of Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada	Yes	Changes as usual

B.C. went first. Premier David Eby said in March that the Mar. 8 spring-forward was the last one, and CP24 adds that B.C. communities on Mountain time are not affected. Next, Alberta followed with a bill that renames its Daylight Saving Time Act the Official Time Act, per CTV Edmonton. Finally, the Northwest Territories confirmed it will share Alberta’s time. For dates, I used the notes from the time zone database, which list Alberta (release 2026c), the Northwest Territories (2026d) and Manitoba (2026e).

Also, Manitoba is the newest. In fact, its government says nearly 72,000 people answered a survey, 92% wanted to stop switching and 58% preferred daylight time, per CTV Winnipeg. Then came Ontario. The province says it intends to keep communities west of the 90th meridian, such as Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake, on Manitoba’s time, per HR Reporter and Global News. However, it plans to have the rule in place by Nov. 1, and I did not find the final regulation text. So I would treat northwestern Ontario as announced, not signed.

What permanent daylight time does to winter mornings

In practice, staying on daylight time means the sun comes up an hour later in winter. For example, CTV says Winnipeg’s sunrise on Dec. 21 will be 9:24 a.m., with sunset at 5:30 p.m. Skies could stay dark until about 9 a.m. in Vancouver, CBC told HCAmag, and the BC Construction Association warned that early-start crews need visibility.

Likewise, a pediatric sleep consultant told CTV that morning light is what cues our bodies, so kids may start the school day in the dark. Still, Alberta’s premier suggested trying it for a year and said the government could put it to a vote in 2027, per CTV. Overall, that seems like a fair way to settle it.

Clocks go back 2026: what to check before Monday

Before the clocks go back 2026 weekend is over, run through this short list. Otherwise, a few small mistakes can cost you a missed call or a closed border crossing.

• Update your phone and laptop. In fact, the time zone database already carries the Alberta, Northwest Territories and Manitoba changes. Alberta’s government said it was working with Apple, Google and Microsoft so devices do not fall back, per CTV. However, I found no release notes from any of them saying when each device gets the data, so an old device could still turn its clock back on Nov. 1. That last part is my guess.
• Write the city in the invite. HCAmag tells employers to list time zones in meeting invites and audit recurring meetings before Nov. 1.
• Check border hours. The Canada Border Services Agency is adjusting hours at land crossings in B.C., Alberta and Manitoba from Nov. 1 to Mar. 14, 2027, to match US ports of entry, per the same HCAmag report. Also, by my math, Vancouver will run one hour ahead of Seattle.
• Do the new Canada math. From Nov. 1, Vancouver sits two hours behind most of Ontario, not three, per CBC via HCAmag. Meanwhile, Calgary is one hour behind Toronto, and Winnipeg matches it.
• Watch the repeated hour. On change night, 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. happens twice in the UK and the US. For example, a backup job or alarm set in that window can run twice.

Also, the same time zone trick came up in my BC election night post, where 8 p.m. in the west was 11 p.m. in the east. But it gets harder to do in your head when the gaps change twice in a week.

Will the US stop changing clocks?

Not this year. The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act on July 14, 2026, by 308 to 117, per the House Clerk roll call. Also, the bill would make daylight time permanent. However, it still needs the Senate and a presidential signature, and I found no report of a Senate vote since July.

But Senator Tom Cotton has pushed back, warning that winter sunrises would come at an “absurdly late hour,” as timeanddate quotes him. Likewise, President Donald Trump supports ending the switch. Meanwhile, the EU has argued about it since 2018, and its members never agreed on one permanent time. Spain restarted the push in October 2025, per timeanddate. So in the US, the clocks go back 2026 style on Nov. 1 and spring forward again on Mar. 14, 2027.

My take on the clocks go back 2026 patchwork

The lost or gained hour is not what worries me. It is a one-night nuisance. Instead, the lasting cost is the patchwork. For example, Manitoba’s decision is five weeks old and Ontario’s is eleven days old, so many people still do not know their new gaps. Meanwhile, Eby said he hopes Congress lets the western states follow B.C., which would at least line up the West Coast again.

Also, I think permanent daylight time deserves a hard look for northern winters. Lighter evenings sound great in October. But a 9:24 a.m. sunrise in December is a real trade, and some sleep experts say standard time suits the body better. In the end, whatever each place picks, I would rather it pick one rule and keep it.