The short version

A practical October 31 guide to the November 1 end of seasonal clock changes in most of British Columbia, based on provincial orders and official notices.

What changes Sunday

Most people in British Columbia will not turn their clocks back on Sunday, November 1, 2026. The province announced in March that its move to permanent daylight time would follow the last spring clock adjustment. Its September notice introduced the abbreviation PCT, or Pacific Time, for the province's new year-round UTC−7 standard. That means Vancouver, Victoria and most other B.C. communities stay on the same clock time while jurisdictions still using seasonal Pacific Time shift back to UTC−8.

Important exceptions within B.C.

The provincial government says communities in the East Kootenay and Golden area, including Cranbrook, Fernie and Golden, continue following Alberta's regional time practice rather than switching automatically to the provincewide PCT arrangement. Parts of northeastern B.C., including Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, already observe UTC−7 year-round. Individual local time practices should be checked before assuming all of B.C. follows the same rules.

Travel, meetings and computer systems

The immediate impact is on the offset between regions, not a one-hour change to clocks in Vancouver. A meeting arranged with Seattle or Los Angeles, for example, may need a new local-time comparison after those places return to standard time. BC Hydro has also issued scheduling instructions for customers interacting with transmission-service systems, reflecting the operational complexity of the change. People who use shared calendars, recurring cross-border events and travel bookings should verify the location-specific displayed time instead of relying only on familiar labels such as PST.

This is an effective-date guide, not a new announcement

B.C. made the policy decision in March and explained the PCT label in September. The October 31 news peg is the approaching November 1 implementation date. The underlying decisions should not be confused with a newly announced reversal or a fresh vote.

Follow the evidence

Sources & transparency

Government of British Columbia, permanent daylight time decision, March 2Government of British Columbia, PCT announcement, September 17BC Hydro, transmission scheduling notices

Original CDN News coverage. Sources are linked for reference.

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