What is the time difference between Toronto and Shanghai?

Shanghai is 12 hours ahead of Toronto. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.

When is the best time to call Shanghai from Toronto?

There is no time inside normal working hours in both cities, so someone has to take the call outside them. The nearest workable windows are listed above — pick one and alternate who gets the awkward slot.

Does Toronto observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Toronto runs on UTC-5 in winter and UTC-4 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

Does Shanghai observe daylight saving time?

No. Shanghai stays on UTC+8 all year, so its clocks never move.

If it is midday in Toronto, what time is it in Shanghai?

It is 00:00 in Shanghai, and already the following day. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.

Which time zones do Toronto and Shanghai use?

Toronto uses America/Toronto, currently UTC-4 (EDT), and Shanghai uses Asia/Shanghai, currently UTC+8. Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Toronto time to Shanghai time

Right now Shanghai runs 12 hours ahead of Toronto. That gap is not fixed: it moves when either city changes its clocks.

Convert a time

From

Date

Time

Converted time

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The converter needs JavaScript to run. Everything below — offsets, daylight saving dates and the hour-by-hour table — is part of the page and works without it.

Hour by hour

Every hour of a day in Toronto, and what the clock reads in Shanghai at that same moment.

Toronto	Shanghai
00:00	12:00
01:00	13:00
02:00	14:00
03:00	15:00
04:00	16:00
05:00	17:00
06:00	18:00
07:00	19:00
08:00	20:00
09:00	21:00
10:00	22:00
11:00	23:00
12:00	00:00next day
13:00	01:00next day
14:00	02:00next day
15:00	03:00next day
16:00	04:00next day
17:00	05:00next day
18:00	06:00next day
19:00	07:00next day
20:00	08:00next day
21:00	09:00next day
22:00	10:00next day
23:00	11:00next day

Daylight saving time

Toronto changes its clocks; Shanghai does not. The difference between them therefore shifts by an hour twice a year.

Toronto

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC-5
Daylight: UTC-4
Next change: 2026-11-01 −60m

Shanghai

Does not observe daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+8

When you can actually talk

A standard working day in Toronto and one in Shanghai do not overlap at all. Any call between them is early for one side or late for the other.

Toronto 21:00–06:00Shanghai 09:00–18:00
Toronto 09:00–18:00Shanghai 21:00–06:00

Reference

The zone identifiers and offsets behind everything above.

	Toronto	Shanghai
IANA zone	America/Toronto	Asia/Shanghai
Abbreviation	EDT	UTC+8
Standard offset	UTC-5	UTC+8
Daylight offset	UTC-4	—
Clock changes this year	2	0
Country	Canada	China

Example, not the current time. Live times appear once the page loads.

Common questions

What is the time difference between Toronto and Shanghai?: Shanghai is 12 hours ahead of Toronto. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.
When is the best time to call Shanghai from Toronto?: There is no time inside normal working hours in both cities, so someone has to take the call outside them. The nearest workable windows are listed above — pick one and alternate who gets the awkward slot.
Does Toronto observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Toronto runs on UTC-5 in winter and UTC-4 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
Does Shanghai observe daylight saving time?: No. Shanghai stays on UTC+8 all year, so its clocks never move.
If it is midday in Toronto, what time is it in Shanghai?: It is 00:00 in Shanghai, and already the following day. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.
Which time zones do Toronto and Shanghai use?: Toronto uses America/Toronto, currently UTC-4 (EDT), and Shanghai uses Asia/Shanghai, currently UTC+8. Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.