<p>On November 1, 2026, clocks in British Columbia stay where they are. The province has moved to permanent Pacific time, and the work lands in your devices and calendars.</p>
<h2>What Changes</h2>
<p>B.C. has adopted permanent year-round daylight saving time. The new name is Pacific time (PCT) at UTC-7, the offset the province has used every summer. PCT replaces PST and PDT.</p>
<p>The transition began March 8, 2026, when clocks moved forward. The Province confirmed that was the final time change. November 1 arrives with the clocks unchanged.</p>
<p>Where to look: your wall clock already reads correctly. The systems needing attention are the ones still expecting a fall-back and applying one anyway.</p>
<h2>Devices</h2>
<h3>Windows</h3>
<p>Microsoft's October 2026 update adds a new time zone entry. Devices running it on a supported Windows version receive the corrected data.</p>
<p>Windows:</p>
<ul>
<li>Install the October 2026 cumulative update.</li>
<li>Restart.</li>
<li>Open Settings → Time & language → Date & time.</li>
<li>Set Time zone to <strong>(UTC-07:00) Pacific Time (British Columbia)</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>macOS and iOS</h3>
<p>Apple has updated macOS and iOS with the new B.C. time zones, shown by city location at UTC-7. The data loads during a restart.</p>
<p>macOS:</p>
<ul>
<li>Install the latest macOS update.</li>
<li>Restart so the new time zone data loads.</li>
<li>Open System Settings → General → Date & Time.</li>
<li>Confirm Time Zone is set automatically for your location.</li>
</ul>
<p>iPhone and iPad:</p>
<ul>
<li>Install the latest iOS update.</li>
<li>Open Settings → General → Date & Time.</li>
<li>Turn on Set Automatically.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Calendars</h2>
<p>A meeting created before November 1 carries a time zone reference, typically the older Pacific Time (US & Canada) entry, which resolves to a different offset once November 1 passes. Microsoft lists confirmed impact on Outlook and Exchange Online, Teams Rooms, Teams Auto Attendant, Bookings, Power Automate, SharePoint On-Premises, and Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations.</p>
<p>Who does the work: meeting organizers. Only the creator can change a meeting's time zone, and attendees then receive an updated invitation.</p>
<h3>Outlook</h3>
<p>Step one — set the calendar time zone (new Outlook):</p>
<ul>
<li>Open Settings → Calendar → View.</li>
<li>Under Time zones, open the Display my calendar in time zone dropdown.</li>
<li>Select <strong>(UTC-07:00) Pacific Time (British Columbia)</strong>.</li>
<li>Select Save.</li>
</ul>
<p>In classic Outlook the same setting lives under File → Options → Calendar.</p>
<p>Step two — update existing meetings:</p>
<ul>
<li>Open the meeting.</li>
<li>For a recurring series, choose Edit Series.</li>
<li>Select the time block, then the Time zone globe button.</li>
<li>Change the time zone to <strong>(UTC-07:00) Pacific Time (British Columbia)</strong>.</li>
<li>Save, or send the update so attendees receive a revised invitation.</li>
</ul>
<p>Recurring meetings: changing the time zone on a series resets any exceptions in it, such as a single instance moved to a different time. Re-create those exceptions afterwards.</p>
<h3>Google Workspace</h3>
<p>The common fault is a user who set a fixed GMT-8 offset where a named time zone belongs.</p>
<p>Google Calendar:</p>
<ul>
<li>Open Settings → General → Time zone.</li>
<li>Select <strong>America/Vancouver</strong>.</li>
<li>Save.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Tooling Still Landing</h2>
<p>Vendor tooling arrives after the change takes effect, so check the first week of November by hand. Non-recurring meetings have an Exchange Online PowerShell cmdlet planned for around November 4. Recurring meeting remediation remains in development, so review those manually.</p>
<h2>Regional Exceptions</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Peace region and Northern Rockies</strong> — Mountain Standard Time, UTC-7 year-round. Same offset as PCT.</li>
<li><strong>East Kootenay</strong> (Cranbrook, Golden) — UTC-6, aligning with Alberta.</li>
<li><strong>Alberta</strong> — UTC-6. <strong>Manitoba</strong> — UTC-5.</li>
<li><strong>Washington, Oregon, California</strong> — still observe daylight saving. Cross-border meetings need attention in both directions.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Before November 1</h2>
<p>Checks to run:</p>
<ul>
<li>Confirm the October Windows update and a recent macOS restart across the fleet.</li>
<li>Set calendar time zones to the new British Columbia entry for every affected user.</li>
<li>Review meetings beyond November 1, starting with recurring series.</li>
<li>Update Edge and WebView2 on Teams Rooms devices, then confirm the room clock matches Windows.</li>
<li>Test a pilot group: meetings, free/busy, Bookings appointments.</li>
<li>Check Google Workspace users for fixed GMT-8 settings.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Where We Come In</h2>
<p>This is fleet work: knowing which machines are current, which run unsupported versions, and which users still carry a stale time zone. We manage Apple and Windows fleets with the reporting to answer that directly, and we can run the calendar migration with your team.</p>
<p>If November 1 is close and the checks are outstanding, <a href="/contact">book a free IT assessment</a> and we will tell you where you stand.</p>
<div class="credit-box">
<p>This article is adapted from <a href="https://www.copiousit.com/blog/bc-pacific-time-2026-calendar-fix" rel="noopener noreferrer">Copious IT's original guide</a>. Credit to the Copious IT team for the research and walkthrough.</p>
</div>
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