NAN Statement as Manitoba Premier Moves to Adopt Permanent Daylight Time for Province

THUNDER BAY, ON: Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) has issued the following statement following the Premier of Manitoba’s announcement this week that it will move to permanent daylight time effective November 1, 2026:

“We respect Premier Wab Kinew’s right to make the decision to adopt permanent daylight time based on feedback received by the people of Manitoba. But we are concerned that this change will have real and immediate implications for First Nations communities in our territory – particularly those near the Manitoba border that rely on Manitoba-based services for many aspects of their daily life.

The change to permanent daylight time will create a shifting time difference between Manitoba and Ontario, with the two provinces aligned for part of the year and Ontario one hour ahead during the remainder. This will affect appointment scheduling, emergency response coordination, transportation, and daily communication between many of our First Nations communities in our western territory and the services they depend on.

We understand that this change is supported by a majority of Manitobans, especially those in more urban areas, but this is not simply an administrative change for many of our communities who rely on vital services from across the provincial border.

Many of our communities have longstanding social, economic, health-care and transportation connections in Manitoba. A change in the time used by the institutions and service providers our communities rely on can have practical consequences for people travelling for medical appointments, coordinating transportation, accessing services, and communicating with health-care providers and other organizations.”

NAN is also concerned that the change to permanent daylight time will have particular implications during the winter months when northern communities already experience significant differences in daylight. Manitoba’s own analysis indicates that under permanent daylight saving time, the December 21 sunrise in Thompson would occur at approximately 10:05 a.m. These realities need to be considered as governments and service providers plan for the transition.

For more information please contact:
Michael Heintzman,
Director of Communications
Cell: (807) 621-2790
mheintzman@nan.ca