Time Zone Change - Manually Adjusting Meeting Times in Outlook for Mac

This page provides steps to allow users to deal with British Columbia's 2026 Time Zone changes in their Outlook for Mac application

This page will provide users with some guidance on how to ensure that British Columbia's time zone changes in 2026 will not adversely affect Outlook calendar appointments that were scheduled prior to the new time zone being available as a choice in Outlook. Starting in 2026, British Columbia will be moving to a new time zone named (UTC -7:00) Pacific Time (British Columbia) This may cause appointments scheduled in advance of the change to appear to be at an incorrect time after November 1.

Important note: Outlook Desktop on Mac's Pacific Time (BC) option when creating calendar entries creates them using the old Pacific Time ( US& Canada ) UTC-8:00 time zone but displays the calendar using a UTC-7:00 visual. This causes new entries to jump an hour shortly after creation and causes modified calendar entries to not actually save with the new correct time zone. 

Suggested temporary remediation until Microsoft patches this behaviour:

• Use Outlook Web Access for all Outlook use on Mac.
• If Outlook Desktop is mandatory use Legacy mode by selecting it from the Outlook system drop-down. If New outlook is mandatory you will need to change device settings to reflect Yukon (UTC−07:00) time zone and ensure Outlook Desktop (New) is configured to sync with device time. Instructions on how to do so are provided below. 

How do I spot the discrepancy in my Outlook calendar? 

The best way to do so is to check the week of November 1-7, 2026 in your Outlook calendar with particular attention paid to repeating appointments and determine if the time is consistent. An example is provided below: 

 

How do I correct this discrepancy? 

The steps to correct this misalignment will vary depending on whether you are the meeting organizer or just a participant.  If you are NOT the meeting organizer Contact the meeting organizer and advise them to follow the steps below. If you are the meeting organizer, VIU IT recommends correcting the issue in Outlook Web Access (OWA) 

If you need to continue using Outlook for Mac Desktop you will have 2 choices: 

• Switch Outlook for Mac into Legacy mode. (recommended)
• Manually select a the Yukon (UTC - 7:00)  time zone and set Outlook for Mac to sync it's time settings to the system. 

Option 1: Setting Outlook for Mac to Legacy mode

1. With Outlook Desktop app in focus, click on Outlook in the top left
2. Click on Legacy Outlook in the drop-down list.
3. When Prompted click on Revert to switch from Outlook Desktop (New) to Legacy Outlook mode.

Option 2: Manually Switching Outlook for Mac to the correct Time Zone

Note: These instructions are intended as a final work-around option for Mac users who are unable to use Outlook Web Access or switch their Outlook for Mac to Legacy mode as outlined above. If you are able to use either one of those options, do not follow these steps. 

1. Open the Settings App
2. Search for and select Date & Time on the left:
3. Toggle Set time zone automatically using your current location to off
   Note: Be aware that doing so means that time zone will not update automatically if you travel.
4. When prompted provide your device credentials to allow system setting changes
5. Click into the Closest city text box and search for Whitehorse
   Note: if text entry does not work, change to a different setting selection then switch back to Date & Time and try again
6. The Time Zone field should update to Yukon Time as in the image above.
7. Completely close Outlook Desktop. You can do so by focusing on the Outlook Desktop application, then clicking the Outlook menu in the top left and selecting Quit Outlook. If prompted when attempting to close outlook click through the prompts as appropriate. This would include prompts about unsaved emails being saved as drafts, etc. Wait 30 seconds to give Outlook Desktop time to fully close
8. Re-open Outlook Desktop
9. Click on Outlook
10. Click on Settings
11. Click on Work Schedule on the left under Calendar section
12. Look for Default time zone for new events
13. Your Outlook time zone setting should look similar to the image below
14. Confirm that your Outlook appears to be configured the same as the image above. 
    Note: If your Default time zone for new events is set to Custom instead of Sync to device you will need to toggle to Sync to device then repeat steps 7 through 14.