KENORA – October 14, 2026 – Ontario has decided that Kenora and the northwestern part of the province will stop changing the clocks. Beginning November 1, residents will remain on Central Daylight Time all year, the same as Manitoba. There will be no fall-back in November and no spring-forward in March.
The City of Kenora put out a survey in September. It drew 5,261 responses. More than 93 per cent supported permanent daylight saving time and staying aligned with the Manitoba border. Council took the results at a special meeting on October 9 and voted unanimously in favour. Mayor Andrew Poirier said the numbers were not ambiguous. “Kenora residents sent a clear and decisive message through our community survey,” he said. “This announcement reflects both the preferences of our community and the realities of life in Northwestern Ontario. Permanent alignment with Manitoba will simplify travel, business, health care access, and everyday activities for many residents.”
He thanked Premier Doug Ford and Greg Rickford, the minister responsible for the northwest, for moving on it. The city’s notice said the change supports the economic, health-care, school, and family links that already run across the border. Kenora is closer to Winnipeg than to Thunder Bay for a lot of ordinary trips. A one-hour jump twice a year has meant mismatched medical appointments, school starts, and business hours for people who cross every week. The city called the survey response rate strong enough that council treated it as the local preference, not a sample.
The rest of Ontario is not on the same path. The province has not announced permanent daylight time for the eastern or southern parts of the province. Northwestern Ontario is the exception, and the reason given is the Manitoba border. The City of Kenora said it joined other municipalities in the region in asking for the change. It did not list which ones. The practical effect in Kenora is that the clocks stay where they are after November 1. Businesses that set hours against Winnipeg time will not have to reset them. Hospitals and clinics that book patients from both sides of the border will not have a seasonal mismatch. The survey is closed. The vote was unanimous. The date is November 1.
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