On 9/23/2026 11:16 PM, Jacob Pratt via tz wrote:
While the recent focus of this list has (rightfully) been on Manitoba
and Northwestern Ontario, I haven't seen anyone ask what will happen
in the westernmost region of Nunavut. Similar to NW Ontario, as far as
I can tell the time should fall back to UTC-7 in November, while
travelling due west into NWT will be UTC-6. This affects all of ~6,500
people, but it would be useful to know what the situation on the
ground is going to be in a few weeks.
As an aside, the part of Kivalliq Region west of 102°W seems to be
uninhabited (no settlements and nothing visible on satellite view),
yet it's included in the UTC-7/-6 DST for a reason I cannot find.
Last report I saw was a news article on May 28th (in response
to Kugluktuk MLA Simon Kuliktana's question near the end of the spring
session) ...
https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/nunavut-explores-ending-time-changes/
The spring legislative session ended June 11th. The next sitting is
October 22nd-November 5th.
I expect it will be a topic during the next legislative sitting.
Manitoba's decision extends the "mismatch" between Nunavut and areas to
the south all the way to Hudson Bay.
BTW: One of the problems with the 1999-2001 experience in Nunavut was
that it initially separated Cambridge Bay from Northwest Territories,
and then separated Kivalliq region from Manitoba and gave Kitikmeot a
two hour separation (but restored the synchronization between
Qikiqtaaluk with Quebec). Historical time zones were restored in 2001.
Adjusting now to match NWT and Manitoba seems to be a good solution. The
decision is up to the Nunavut government.
Historically, using 102°W basically extends the time zone line north
from the line between SK and MB. The older time zone lines were based
primarily on longitude. The Eastern Time / Central Time division
generally follows 85°W north of the Northwest Passage. At one time there
was an Atlantic Time / Eastern Time division through Qikiqtaaluk. Mostly
uninhabited or lightly populated areas following solar time in a part of
the world where they can go months without a sunrise and months without
a sunset.
I would read shading western Kivalliq as "Mountain Time" as
acknowledging any people in that area would more likely follow a
"Cambridge Bay" time than a "Rankin Inlet" (or any other settlement on
the Hudson Bay) time zone.
