Time Difference Between Canada – New York

The time difference between Canada and New York could be 0 to 3 hours. New York City is located in the UTC-5 time zone, during summertime it becomes UTC-4. It’s important to know that Canada is divided into six time zones. From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, most of Canada follows daylight saving time.

What time is it in New York?

A lot of people are interested in knowing what the time difference is between Canada and New York when they are planning a trip to New York. The New York time difference is depending also on daylight saving time but there is a way to calculate the time in New York.

If you are asking yourself “What time is it in New York?” or “How late is it in New York now?”, you can just check your watch and subtract or add between one to three hours depending on your time zone in Canada. That means if your clock at home in Edmonton, AB shows noon (12:00), then it is currently 14:00 in New York City. Keep in mind that the current time also depends on the summer and wintertime.

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Hey there, I'm Eric!

I'm a true New York fan with over 20 years of experience visiting and living in NYC. Here on my website, I share all my tips and valuable information to help you make the most of your trip. I personally test and regularly re-test everything on my site to ensure that what I write is helpful, honest, and always up to date.

If you have questions, are unsure about something, or want me to check your itinerary, please email me at eric@newyorkcity.ca. You can also follow me on Facebook or Instagram to get daily updates from New York.

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Eric’s Tip: “You can add New York time to your phone by using the World Clock. You can also add multiple time zones to your home screen. This feature is really handy for keeping track of the time difference between New York and home.”

New York time now

When travelling to New York in the spring or autumn time, don’t forget to pay attention to daylight savings time or summer and wintertime as many call it. If you have difficulty remembering how the clock is set, Americans have a saying that helps: “spring forward, fall back”.

Summer time in New York

Unlike other countries in the world, New York and Canada use the same dates to start and end Day Light Savings. In 2026, the clocks in New York will move forward on the night of Sunday 8th of March. Daylight Saving Time (DST) in Canada starts on the 8th of March as well.

There’s no time difference between New York and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, and Quebec. Compared to New York, Nova Scotia is one hour ahead and Newfoundland is one hour and a half. However, Winnipeg is one hour behind, Edmonton and Calgary are two hours and Vancouver is three hours.

Clocks move one hour forward in the spring and one hour back in the fall.

Winter time in New York

In New York and Canada, the clock is turned back on the same day. In 2026, the clocks will be turned back by one hour on 1 November.

• Pacific Standard Time (PST) (UTC -8, Vancouver)
• Mountain Standard Time (MST) (UTC -7, Edmonton, Calgary)
• Central Standard Time (CST) (UTC -6, Winnipeg)
• Eastern Standard Time (EST) (UTC -5, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Québec)
• Atlantic Standard Time (AST) (UTC -4, Nova Scotia)
• Newfoundland Standard Time (NST) (UTC -3.30 Newfoundland)

Jet lag New York

Jet lag in New York can make your trip to the Big Apple unnecessarily difficult. Having jet lag means suffering from a disturbed Circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle). This usually happens when travelling to or from a different time zone, which differs a lot from your own. As the New York time zone could differ by several hours from Canada, it can happen that you will suffer from jet lag during or after your New York trip.

Fighting jet lag

I prefer to try to prevent jet lag in advance rather than laboriously trying to fight jet lag in New York. These are a few of my tips for preventing jet lag:

• Adjust to the New York time zone before flying. In the days before your flight, stay up a bit later in the evening and shift your time of waking up, if possible.
• Drink enough water during your flight so your body won’t be weakened further.
• When you arrive in New York, fight the urge to go to bed early, even when you are very tired from your flight. It’s best to keep to your regular bedtime schedule when you are in New York, but of course, adjusted to the actual New York time.
• Don’t drink alcohol in the first few days of your trip. That means if you were planning to do the Speakeasy Bar Tour, keep in mind not to schedule it for the first day, but rather a bit later.
• Try to spend as much time outside in daylight as possible in order to help your inner rhythm adapt.

Due to the time difference in New York, it can also happen that you will only experience jet lag back at home. Sleeping on the flight home or at least trying to do so, helps with not taking the jet lag back home. Try to take it easy for the first few days when you are back.