Official time in Canada
The clock above shows the exact time where you are, corrected against an internet time server, and the board below shows every Canadian time zone, live. Canada's official time is kept by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) with atomic clocks in Ottawa; this page is an independent clock checked against the same world time scale, UTC.
| Your device clock | measuring… |
|---|---|
| Measurement accuracy | … |
| Network round trip | … |
| Reference | … |
| UTC right now | … |
Every Canadian time zone, now
| Zone | Time now | UTC offset | Clock changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NewfoundlandSt. John's | --:--:-- | Clocks go back November 1, 2026 at 2:00 a.m. | |
| AtlanticHalifax, Moncton, Charlottetown | --:--:-- | Clocks go back November 1, 2026 at 2:00 a.m. | |
| EasternToronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Iqaluit | --:--:-- | Clocks go back November 1, 2026 at 2:00 a.m. | |
| ManitobaWinnipeg, Brandon | --:--:-- | No clock changes | |
| Central (Nunavut)Rankin Inlet | --:--:-- | Clocks go back November 1, 2026 at 2:00 a.m. | |
| SaskatchewanRegina, Saskatoon | --:--:-- | No clock changes | |
| AlbertaCalgary, Edmonton | --:--:-- | No clock changes | |
| Mountain (Nunavut)Cambridge Bay | --:--:-- | Clocks go back November 1, 2026 at 2:00 a.m. | |
| British ColumbiaVancouver, Victoria, Kelowna | --:--:-- | No clock changes | |
| YukonWhitehorse, Dawson City | --:--:-- | No clock changes | |
| Coordinated Universal TimeReference for the world | --:--:-- | No clock changes |
Your own time zone is highlighted. Times and offsets come from the 2026 time-zone rules. If your browser still has older rules, this site corrects British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba automatically, so the board stays right after November 1, 2026.
What changed in 2026
Three provinces stopped changing their clocks in 2026. British Columbia sprang forward in March and stays on UTC−7 all year. Alberta did the same and stays on UTC−6. Manitoba did not fall back on November 1, 2026, and stays on UTC−5, the same as Toronto in winter. They join Yukon (UTC−7 since 2020) and most of Saskatchewan (UTC−6), which already used one time all year. Newfoundland, the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario and Nunavut still change their clocks with the United States. For every area and town, see Canada time zones.
Where Canada's official time comes from
The NRC's atomic clocks in Ottawa keep Canada's realization of UTC and are compared with about 80 laboratories worldwide that together define it. The NRC makes the time available in three ways:
- Web clock: nrc.canada.ca/en/web-clock, which also shows how far your device is off.
- Telephone talking clock: 613-745-1576 (English) or 613-745-9426 (French), announcing Eastern Time every ten seconds.
- Network Time Protocol: time servers such as time.nrc.ca, which computers and networks can sync to directly. The NRC publishes the current list of servers.
Since the late 1930s the NRC also broadcast the time by shortwave radio from station CHU near Ottawa: second beeps with bilingual announcements, heard across North America. That shortwave service ended on June 22, 2026.
Questions people ask
What is Canada's official time?
Canada's official time is kept by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) in Ottawa, using atomic clocks that contribute to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Each province and territory sets its own time zone and daylight saving rules by law; the NRC provides the reference that those local times are counted from.
How accurate is this clock?
This page checks your device against an internet time server several times, keeps the fastest exchange and corrects for half the round trip. On a normal connection the result is within a few hundredths of a second; the table under the clock shows the measured offset and uncertainty for your connection. For the official source, use the NRC web clock.
Which provinces stopped changing their clocks in 2026?
British Columbia (UTC−7), Alberta (UTC−6) and Manitoba (UTC−5) stopped changing their clocks in 2026: their last change was in March 2026, and they did not fall back on November 1. Yukon has been on UTC−7 all year since 2020, and most of Saskatchewan has not changed its clocks in modern times.
Can I still hear Canada's time signal on the radio?
No. The NRC ended the CHU shortwave time signal on June 22, 2026. The official time is still available from the NRC's web clock, its telephone talking clock and its Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers.
What is the NRC talking clock number?
Call 613-745-1576 for English or 613-745-9426 for French. It announces Eastern Time every ten seconds, followed by a tone; long-distance charges apply outside the Ottawa area.
How do I set my computer to official Canadian time?
Point your computer or network at an NRC time server, such as time.nrc.ca, using the Network Time Protocol. Windows, macOS and Linux all let you enter a custom time server; see our guide to NTP.
Related: exact time · Canada time zones · atomic clock · what is NTP? · time in Toronto · time in Vancouver
Last updated October 21, 2026. Sources: NRC web clock, NRC telephone talking clock, IANA time zone database 2026.