Daylight saving time could be a step closer to changing in Ontario

Ontario may be closer to eliminating twice-a-year clock changes.

The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent year-round.

The bill still needs to head to the Senate, where it’s not clear if it will pass, and then to President Donald Trump.

The bill could have an impact on Ontario if it is fully approved.

READ MORE: Bill tabled to ditch clock changes in another Canadian province

Back in 2020, the province passed legislation to eliminate the twice-a-year clock change.

The province’s Time Amendment Act allows Ontario to adopt permanent daylight saving time, instead of having it for only part of the year.

However, the change has never taken effect.

The Ontario government has said it will only move ahead with permanent daylight saving time if both Quebec and New York State adopt the same approach. The three jurisdictions are closely tied economically and share major transportation, broadcast and financial market connections.

Officials have said moving forward on its own could create confusion for cross-border commuters, travel schedules, television broadcast times and business operations — particularly in sectors such as finance that rely on synchronized time zones.

READ MORE: Clock change marks progress for some Canadians, but is a pain for others

But if this bill leads to New York adopting permanent daylight time, that would bring Ontario one step closer to doing the same.

For the time being, however, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November each year.

Ontario residents switch their clocks one hour forward in the Spring and one hour back in the Fall.

The next time change is currently scheduled to happen on Nov. 1.