B.C.’s Eby is urging West Coast governors to fall in line with daylight time change

VICTORIA — British Columbia is urging U.S. states along the West Coast to fall in line with the provincial government’s decision to adopt permanent daylight time.

Premier David Eby announced Monday that the province will spring forward one last time this Sunday when standard time ends, but it won’t revert when the clocks change elsewhere in November.

It means the province will be an hour behind Washington state, Oregon, and California from November to March, but Eby says in a letter to their governors that they should join B.C. in ending the time change and advocate for authorization from the U.S. Congress.

The premier says in the letter to governors Bob Ferguson, Tina Kotek and Gavin Newsom that B.C. held off on the time change until the states could move with it, but the situation has changed and the province is making the switch for the best interests of its residents.

Eby says permanent daylight time will improve public well-being, but adds that the “Cascadia region remains deeply integrated through tourism, trade and transportation” despite the broader “trade challenges” between the U.S. and Canada.

He says B.C. values Washington state, Oregon and California “as close neighbours and friends,” and wants to align itself with their economies, “for travel and trade to be unhindered.”

The U.S. Congress has yet to approve a law that would allow states to make the switch to permanent daylight time, something Eby acknowledges, and the letter is copied to the congressional delegations of the three states.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press