Time in Canada now
7:04AMEST
ESTUTC−5+0 h vs New York (you)America/Toronto
- Next clock change: Sunday, March 14, 2027: at 2:00 AM clocks go forward 1 hour to 3:00 AM (EDT, UTC−4)
- Next clock change: Sunday, November 7, 2027: at 2:00 AM clocks go back 1 hour to 1:00 AM (EST, UTC−5)
Time zones in Canada now
| Zone | Time now | Offset now | Rules | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Standard Time | 5:04 AM MST | UTC−7 | MST (UTC−7) all year | Vancouver · MST - BC (most areas); MST - BC (Creston); MST - BC (Dawson Cr, Ft St John); MST - BC (Ft Nelson); MST - Yukon (east); MST - Yukon (west) |
| Mountain Time | 5:04 AM MST | UTC−7 | MST (UTC−7) / MDT (UTC−6) | — · Mountain - NU (west) |
| Central Standard Time | 6:04 AM CST | UTC−6 | CST (UTC−6) all year | Calgary · CST - SK (most areas); CST - SK (midwest); CST - AB, BC(E), NT(E), SK(W); CST - NT (west) |
| Central Time | 6:04 AM CST | UTC−6 | CST (UTC−6) / CDT (UTC−5) | — · Central - NU (Resolute); Central - NU (central) |
| Eastern Standard Time | 7:04 AM EST | UTC−5 | EST (UTC−5) all year | Winnipeg · EST - ON (Atikokan), NU (Coral H); EST - Manitoba, ON (northwest) |
| Eastern Time | 7:04 AM EST | UTC−5 | EST (UTC−5) / EDT (UTC−4) | Toronto · Eastern - ON & QC (most areas); Eastern - NU (most areas) |
| Atlantic Standard Time | 8:04 AM AST | UTC−4 | AST (UTC−4) all year | — · AST - QC (Lower North Shore) |
| Atlantic Time | 8:04 AM AST | UTC−4 | AST (UTC−4) / ADT (UTC−3) | Halifax · Atlantic - NS (most areas), PE; Atlantic - NS (Cape Breton); Atlantic - New Brunswick; Atlantic - Labrador (most areas) |
| Newfoundland Time | 8:34 AM NST | UTC−3:30 | NST (UTC−3:30) / NDT (UTC−2:30) | St. John's · Newfoundland, Labrador (SE) |
Time zone in Canada
Canada has 9 different clock settings under the current rules (5 standard offsets; some regions share an offset but not the daylight saving rules), from MST (UTC−7) in Vancouver to NDT (UTC−2:30) in St. John's. The clock at the top shows the capital, Ottawa, on Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC−5) in winter and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC−4) in summer.
The IANA time zone database divides Canada into 23 zones. It needs more zones than there are clock settings because it also records history: two regions that keep the same time today get separate entries if their clocks differed at any point since 1970, which is why, for example, America/Vancouver, America/Creston and America/Dawson_Creek are separate.
Ottawa lies at 75.7° west, where mean solar time is UTC−5:03 (four minutes per degree of longitude). That is within 3 min of its standard time, so the sun is highest close to noon in winter, and about 1:00 PM in summer.
Daylight saving time in Canada
Partly. Regions on Mountain Time, Central Time, Eastern Time, Atlantic Time and Newfoundland Time change their clocks; Vancouver (UTC−7), Calgary (UTC−6), Winnipeg (UTC−5) and Blanc-Sablon (UTC−4) stay on standard time all year.
In Ottawa clocks move forward one hour on the second Sunday of March at 2:00 AM and back on the first Sunday of November at 2:00 AM (local time).
All coming change dates are on the America/Toronto page.
Clock history of Canada
The record begins with local mean time (clocks set by the sun, UTC−5:18 in Toronto), which ended on December 31, 1894, when EST (UTC−5) replaced it. Clocks have moved for daylight saving time every year since 1970. The first summer time in the record dates from 1918. The table summarises the clocks of Ottawa year by year since 1970, from the tzdata entry America/Toronto.
| Years | Clocks | Abbreviations |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 onward | UTC−5 in winter, UTC−4 in summer | EST, EDT |
Rows from 2027 on follow the rules in tzdata 2026f; a government decision would change them in the next release.
Convert Canada time
Time difference between Canada and major cities
| City | Local time now | Canada vs city now | January | July | Office overlap Jan / Jul |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 4:04 AM Tue, Nov 3 | +3 h | +3 h | +3 h | 5 h / 5 h |
| London | 12:04 PM Tue, Nov 3 | −5 h | −5 h | −5 h | 3 h / 3 h |
| Berlin | 1:04 PM Tue, Nov 3 | −6 h | −6 h | −6 h | 2 h / 2 h |
| Dubai | 4:04 PM Tue, Nov 3 | −9 h | −9 h | −8 h | none / none |
| New Delhi | 5:34 PM Tue, Nov 3 | −10 h 30 min | −10 h 30 min | −9 h 30 min | none / none |
| Singapore | 8:04 PM Tue, Nov 3 | −13 h | −13 h | −12 h | none / none |
| Beijing | 8:04 PM Tue, Nov 3 | −13 h | −13 h | −12 h | none / none |
| Tokyo | 9:04 PM Tue, Nov 3 | −14 h | −14 h | −13 h | none / none |
| Sydney | 11:04 PM Tue, Nov 3 | −16 h | −16 h | −14 h | none / none |
- In 2027, Ottawa is 4 h behind London from March 14 to March 27 and from October 31 to November 6, instead of 5 h behind London as during the rest of the year, because the two places change their clocks on different dates.
- In 2027, Ottawa is 5 h behind Berlin from March 14 to March 27 and from October 31 to November 6, instead of 6 h behind Berlin as during the rest of the year, because the two places change their clocks on different dates.
- In 2027, Ottawa is 15 h behind Sydney from March 14 to April 3 and from October 3 to November 6: the weeks between the two seasons, when one place has changed its clocks and the other has not yet.
Office hours and calls
With JavaScript on, this line shows how Canada’s office hours overlap yours today.
A 9-to-5 day in Ottawa overlaps London’s for 3 h in January (9:00 AM–12:00 PM Ottawa time) and the same in July. At 9:00 AM in Ottawa it is 2:00 PM in London.
Ottawa and New Delhi share no office hours: when offices open at 9:00 AM in Ottawa, it is 7:30 PM in New Delhi. A call has to be early or late for one side: 9:30 PM the day before in Ottawa is 8:00 AM in New Delhi.
Neighbouring time zones
The nearest large cities on a different clock, with the straight-line distance from Ottawa and the difference now.
| City | Distance | Time now | Their clock vs here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax Canada | 960 km | 8:04 AM AST | +1 h |
| Chicago United States | 1,040 km | 6:04 AM CST | −1 h |
Same clock as Canada
These places keep exactly the same time as Canada all year under the current rules (zones America/Detroit, America/Grand_Turk, America/Indiana/Indianapolis, America/Indiana/Marengo, America/Indiana/Petersburg and 8 more).
Cities in Canada
- Toronto7:04 AM
- Montréal7:04 AM
- Calgary6:04 AM
- Ottawa7:04 AM
- Edmonton6:04 AM
- Mississauga7:04 AM
- Vancouver5:04 AM
- Brampton7:04 AM
- Hamilton7:04 AM
- Surrey5:04 AM
- Québec7:04 AM
- Halifax8:04 AM
- Saskatoon6:04 AM
- Kitchener7:04 AM
- Regina6:04 AM
- Oakville7:04 AM
- Barrie7:04 AM
- Kelowna5:04 AM
- Abbotsford5:04 AM
- Waterloo7:04 AM
- Kamloops5:04 AM
- Red Deer6:04 AM
- Moncton8:04 AM
Canada at a glance
- CapitalOttawa
- Population41,651,653
- Time zone IDAmerica/Toronto
- Standard timeEST (UTC−5)
- Daylight saving timeEDT (UTC−4)
- Calling code+1