USA & Canada Start DST on March 10, 2019
By Anne Buckle. Published 5-Feb-2019
Most of the United States, Canada, and Mexico's northern border cities start Daylight Saving Time (DST) on Sunday, March 10, 2019.
US & Canada DST Map: The striped areas start DST on Sunday, March 10, 2019.
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People in areas which observe DST set the clocks forward one hour from 02:00 (2 am) to 03:00 (3 am), local time.
Standard time will resume on Sunday, November 3, 2019.
Brighter Afternoons
In local time, sunrise and sunset will be about one hour later than the day before resulting in more daylight in the afternoon.
Most of the US Uses DST
Almost all of the United States observes DST. Hawaii and most of Arizona are the only two US states that do not change their clocks.
None of the US dependencies observe DST. This includes American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the US Minor Outlying Islands, and the US Virgin Islands.
DST in Canada
In Canada, DST begins at the same time as in the US.
Areas that don't use DST include most of Saskatchewan, some locations in Québec east of 63° westerly longitude (e.g., Blanc-Sablon), Southampton Island, and some areas in British Columbia.
Time Zone Converter: Find the time in another country
US Bills to Abolish DST
Proposals to abolish the yearly time change regularly appear on the legislative agenda, and several DST bills are currently moving up the legislative ladder in the US.
In November 2018, California voters approved “Proposition 7”, which allows the state legislature to put California on Daylight Saving Time year round. However, the bill needs a two-thirds vote in the state legislature, the governor’s signature, and Congressional approval.
In Florida, Governor Rick Scott signed off on the bill dubbed the “Sunshine Protection Act” at the end of March 2018 sending it to Congress. The Bill eliminating the semi-annual practice has still not been approved at the federal level, and Floridians had to set their clocks back one hour on November 3, 2018.
From experience, most bills normally don't make it all the way to the state Senate, and they are usually voted down at some point in the legislative process. We monitor the political processes closely on timeanddate.com.
The European Union Wants to Scrap DST
In September 2018, the European Commission issued a draft directive to permanently scrap DST in the EU.
In a public survey, more than 80% of 4.6 million respondents voted to put an end to seasonal clock changes altogether, but the EU Member States called for more time before putting an end to the practice.
Mexico DST Divided
A few northern Mexican border towns, such as Tijuana and Juárez (Ciudad Juárez), start DST on March 10 along with the US and Canada.
However, most of Mexico starts DST on Sunday, April 7, 2019. A few Mexican cities, like Hermosillo and Cancún, do not observe DST at all.
Other areas starting DST on March 10 are Cuba, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Thule Air Base in Greenland.
Set Clocks Back or Ahead?
To remember which way to set your watch, keep in mind one of these sayings: “spring forward, fall back” or “spring ahead, fall behind.” The clocks spring ahead (= losing one hour) in the spring when DST starts and fall behind one hour (= gaining one hour) when DST ends in the fall.