Current time in Toronto

The same clock as New York

Toronto keeps Eastern Time: Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC−5) in winter and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC−4) in summer. It shares that time with New York, Ottawa and Montreal all year, which keeps Canada’s largest city in step with its main trading partner. Ontario is wide enough to need a second zone: the far north-west of the province, around Kenora, is on Central Time, one hour behind Toronto.

A law that waits for the neighbours

Clocks go forward on the second Sunday of March and back on the first Sunday of November, on the same nights as in the United States. In 2020 Ontario passed the Time Amendment Act, which would keep the province on daylight time all year. The act only takes effect if Quebec and the State of New York make the same move. Neither has done so, and Toronto still changes its clocks.

Where worldwide standard time was first proposed

Sandford Fleming, a Scottish-born engineer who built Canadian railways, presented his plan for a worldwide system of standard time to the Canadian Institute in Toronto in 1879. He proposed 24 zones, each one hour apart, counted from a single prime meridian. Fleming is said to have taken up the cause after missing a train in Ireland because of a misprinted timetable. His ideas shaped the international conference of 1884 that chose Greenwich.

Toronto: time zone at a glance

Time zone

America/Toronto

Standard time

UTC−5

Daylight saving time

UTC−4

Clock changes in 2026

Sunday, March 8, 2026: forward 1 hour

Sunday, November 1, 2026: back 1 hour

Clock changes in 2027

Sunday, March 14, 2027: forward 1 hour

Sunday, November 7, 2027: back 1 hour

Dates reflect the rules in force when this page was last updated. Governments can change them at short notice.

Plan a meeting in Toronto

Use the actual meeting date. Seasonal clock changes can alter the time difference.

How accurate is this clock?

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