Full Breakdown
Northwestern Ontario Moves to Permanent Daylight Time
By Drooid · · How we work
Decision to Keep Clocks Fixed Year-Round
The Ontario government announced that all communities west of the 90th meridian—including Kenora, Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake—will remain on daylight-saving time permanently, eliminating the twice-annual clock changes. The change takes effect when the province normally adjusts its clocks in early November, aligning the north-western region with Manitoba’s year-round schedule.
Local Support and Survey Results
A survey conducted in Kenora attracted roughly 6,000 responses out of the town’s 16,000 residents. Mayor Andrew Poirier said the poll showed 93 % of participants favored staying on daylight time. The strong backing prompted the municipal council to pass a resolution to align with Manitoba, a move echoed by neighboring communities.
Rationale from Officials and Business Owners
Provincial MPP Greg Rickford highlighted a “unanimous consensus” built through collaboration with communities and First Nations across the northwest. He emphasized that the process considered “detailed and nuanced considerations.”
Mayor Poirier described the region’s ties to Winnipeg as comparable to the “401” highway in terms of economic activity, tourism and cross-border travel, noting that synchronized time simplifies everything from medical appointments to tourist bookings.
Scott Green, who runs Lake of the Woods Marina and Service Centre, said matching Manitoba’s clock will make “watch parties” for Winnipeg Jets games and other scheduling tasks “much easier.”
Comparative Context
Northwestern Ontario is not the only Canadian area with a distinct time-zone arrangement. The Kootenay Region in British Columbia recently reconsidered a shift to permanent Mountain Standard Time after residents expressed concerns about health-care access. Councilor Wesley Routley warned that patients traveling to Cranbrook for dialysis faced “real risk” under a different schedule, prompting the community to stay aligned with neighboring districts.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Through the collective efforts of communities and First Nations across the northwest, we’ve led a process to build consensus the right way, with detailed and nuanced considerations,” — Rainy River Greg Rickford
- “So we listened to the people of Kenora and we stand by what we did as a council to pass a resolution that we would look at aligning ourselves with Manitoba, and so did lots of our neighbouring communities, which was very important in this whole process,” — Andrew Poirier, survey and mayor
- “That’s how much economic activity, tourism, visiting back and forth occurs between the two jurisdictions,” — Andrew Poirier, survey and mayor
- “So when somebody makes an appointment for a boat taxi or a tour and we are on the same page for a time frame (or) often Zoom meetings if people are calling out of Toronto you have to definitely make sure that you’re on the same time,” — Scott Green, owner and operator of Lake of the Woods Marina and Service Centre
- “We have residents that have to make that drive [to Cranbrook hospital] for dialysis and that get referred to Cranbrook for other care and so that was a real risk,” — Coun. Wesley Routley