No more changing clocks for the NWT, government says

Changing your clocks back is officially a thing of the past in the NWT.

As the end of daylight saving time approaches, the NWT will not be participating.

A new, permanent, year-round time zone, known as Northwest Territories Time (UTC-06:00), will now be the standard.

“On Nov. 1, 2026, when clocks would normally be turned back by one hour, no time change will occur in the NWT. We now share a common time with both Alberta and Saskatchewan,” reads a Sept. 23 GNWT press release.

Premier R.J. Simpson first announced the change in status on April 20.

According to a territorial government press release from April, the decision to adopt a new NWT time standard came after Alberta’s government decided to adopt the equivalent of Mountain Daylight Time year-round.

Of 3,500 NWT participants surveyed in 2022, 87 per cent agreed that the NWT should adopt a permanent time zone, and respondents most commonly showed preference for Mountain Daylight Time year-round.

The GNWT says it only had the authority to end time changes after amendments to the Interpretation Act were made in 2022.

Northwest Territories Time came into effect officially on Aug. 21.

Simpson says ending the practice of rolling clocks back an hour is giving NWTers what they asked for.

“This change provides greater consistency for people, families, organizations and businesses across the territory,” he said.

The press release states that the transition will be simple.

“Devices running the latest software version, including many smartphones, computers and other connected devices, are expected to receive the time zone update once it is released by system providers,” the GNWT stated. “Some older devices and computers running Windows operating systems will require a manual update. The GNWT continues to work with partners to support a smooth transition ahead of the change.”

More information, including a list of devices that will need manual updates, is available at GNWT.ca/time.