Clocks fall back this weekend as daylight saving time ends across BC

It’s that time of year again, Victoria.

Daylight saving time officially ends this weekend, giving everyone an extra hour of sleep before winter settles in.

At 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 2nd, clocks across BC will turn back one hour as the province returns to standard time. If you still use a manual clock or oven timer, make sure to set it back before heading to bed on Saturday night.

The change means earlier sunrises and earlier sunsets, meaning darker evenings are on the way.

In Victoria, sunrise on Sunday will be at 7:04 a.m., compared to 8:04 a.m. the morning before. Sunset will shift to 4:48 p.m., nearly an hour earlier than Saturday’s 5:49 p.m.

Daylight saving time will return on Sunday, March 8th, 2026.

A look back at how it started

Contrary to popular belief, farmers were not behind the idea of daylight saving time. In fact, many opposed it because it disrupted their schedules.

The concept traces back to 1784, when Benjamin Franklin wrote An Economical Project suggesting people could make better use of daylight by waking earlier.

It was later proposed again in 1907 by British builder William Willett, but many considered the idea unnecessary and even dishonest because it altered “true time.”

Germany was the first to adopt daylight saving time during the First World War to conserve fuel, followed by the United Kingdom and North America in 1918. It was later dropped and revived during the Second World War for similar reasons.

The current schedule was established under the US Energy Policy Act of 2005, which Canada adopted in 2007. The time change now runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.

There have been ongoing discussions in BC about ending the twice-yearly clock change, but the province continues to follow the same schedule as the United States to keep trade and travel consistent across the west coast.

Until any changes are made, British Columbians can look forward to an extra hour of rest this weekend and slightly brighter mornings to start the day.