Dates and times
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Days and months
When writing dates:
- Write and capitalize the full name of a month
- Write the date as a numeral without an ordinal indicator ("st," "nd," "rd," "th")
- Write and capitalize the full day of the week (if included)
- Write out the date month-day-year
If you have limited space, such as in a table:
- Abbreviate day or month names to the first 3 letters when space is limited
- Jan, Feb, Mar
- Mon, Tue, Wed
- The date should be ordered year-month-day if it is written using only numbers
Use 2 commas to set off the year when it follows the month and day, but is not at the very end of the sentence. Omit the commas when only the month and year are given.
Example: How to format dates
Write:
- July 31, 2016, or just July 31 if the year is already clear
- Tuesday, July 25, 2023 or just Thursday, July 25, if the year is already clear
- 2023-08-15
Don't write:
- July 31st, 2016, or July 31st
- 08-15-2023
Example: Where to place commas when writing dates
- On May 29, 2023, a general meeting for all CRA managers will take place
- A general meeting for all CRA managers will take place on May 29, 2023
- We will publish the guide in Augus 2023 or soon after
- He worked in my department from May 20, 2001, until October 28, 2003, when he accepted another assignment
Date ranges
Use "to" instead of an en dash in date ranges. For date ranges like fiscal years, explain what period the range covers in surrounding text.
Example: How to format date ranges
- Monday to Friday
- March 29 to April 4
- January to March 2023 (instead of Q1, Q2, Q3 or Q4)
- This report covers the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year. A fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31
Times
Write the time based on a 12-hour clock, followed by the abbreviation am or pm.
- 4:30 pm
If stating a range of time where one part includes minutes and the other does not, add the colon and zeroes to state the hour.
- 9 am to 5 pm
- 7 pm to 11 pm
- The course runs from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm
Time zones
Always include the time zone when providing hours of service. Either give the specific time zone or indicate that it is "local time"
In most cases, use time zone abbreviations to save space. Always use the two-letter abbreviation. Do not use the abbreviations for standard time or daylight saving time.
For Canadian time zones, use the following abbreviations:
- AT Atlantic Time
- CT Central Time
- ET Eastern Time
- MT Mountain Time
- NT Newfoundland Time
- PT Pacific Time
For tables or for hours of service under contact information, always use the abbreviation to save space.
If referring to a time zone in a paragraph, you can do either of the following:
-
Place a comma after the stated time and write the name of the zone out in full, with an initial capital letter
-
Use the abbreviation
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