Quebecers will turn their clocks back one hour this coming Sunday, returning to standard time in a shift that the Parti Québécois indicates could mark the final time the province adjusts its timepieces, monmatane.com reported. In the transition from Saturday night into Sunday morning, clocks shift backward so that 2:00 a.m. becomes 1:00 a.m.
Quebec Government Prepares Legislation to End Time Changes
Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon announced Wednesday that his government intends to introduce a bill abolishing the time-change practice. Speaking to reporters, St-Pierre Plamondon stated that the administration plans to consult specialists to confirm whether a consensus exists regarding the counter-productive nature of seasonal time shifts. The proposed legislation would also examine whether the province should ultimately adopt standard time or permanent daylight saving time.
An online public consultation launched in 2024 by the former Coalition Avenir Québec government showed that 91 percent of participating Quebecers favored abolishing the time change. 72 percent of respondents expressed a preference for keeping daylight saving time year-round. Although former Simon Jolin-Barrette stated in 2025 that further consultations were required, the CAQ administration left office without taking final legislative action.
Several other Canadian provinces, including British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba, have already moved away from traditional time changes by choosing to maintain daylight saving time year-round.
Scientific Debate Over Permanent Time Zones
While public opinion polls consistently favor permanent daylight saving time, sleep researchers and chronobiologists point toward a different conclusion.
The analysis indicates that major sleep and chronobiology associations recommend adopting permanent standard time rather than permanent daylight saving time if seasonal changes are eliminated. Morning light serves to synchronize the human biological clock with a 24-hour cycle, whereas evening light tends to delay internal circadian rhythms. Adopting permanent daylight saving time would push winter sunrise later into the morning, forcing morning commutes and early daily activities into prolonged darkness. Researchers noted that this lack of morning light could disrupt sleep patterns, negatively impact mental health, and disproportionately affect individuals experiencing seasonal affective disorder during winter months.
International precedents offer cautionary examples regarding permanent daylight saving time. The United States implemented permanent daylight saving time during the 1974 energy crisis but repealed the measure within less than a year. La Russie a adopté l’heure d’été permanente en 2011 avant d’abandonner la politique en 2014, tandis que le Chili a inversé une mesure comparable prise en 2015, selon rtn.ch.
Europe and Switzerland Return to Standard Time
Across the Atlantic, Switzerland and most European nations also return to standard time early Sunday morning at 3:00 a.m., moving clocks back one hour, rtn.ch reported.
European nations originally introduced daylight saving time in 1973 amid the petroleum crisis to provide an extra hour of daylight for households and businesses to conserve energy. Switzerland adopted the practice in 1981 to prevent becoming an isolated time zone within Europe. Under the current schedule, European clocks will advance again on March 28, 2027, to return to daylight saving time, rtn.ch reported.
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