Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled the province’s fresh approach to data centers on Thursday, emphasizing the importance of keeping Canadian data within the country. The framework for data center approvals focuses on three key pillars: economic development, data protection and sovereignty, and community investment along with public confidence.
Ford, speaking at the announcement in Guelph, emphasized the significance of the new data center playbook, highlighting its role in shaping the future economy to drive substantial economic growth, boost tax revenues, and foster the creation of numerous job opportunities. The framework aims to ensure that data centers fully cover the costs of their electricity consumption, encouraging the development of their power generation capabilities. It also establishes a distinct rate class for large new data centers, ensuring they contribute more than existing industrial rate programs for significant electricity consumers without burdening Ontario families with additional costs.
Furthermore, Ford emphasized that the province will not provide financial incentives to attract investments, stressing the framework’s role as a key driver of its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. This strategy is projected to yield substantial economic growth, amounting to $122 billion by 2035, and create around 17,000 new jobs annually.
The announcement coincides with deliberations in various municipalities across Ontario regarding moratoriums on data centers. Oakville recently voted to implement a one-year moratorium, while Mississauga is set to vote on its own moratorium in September.
In response to these developments, Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner has called for a pause on new data centers. He expressed concerns about the benefits accruing mainly to corporations rather than local communities. Ilham Abdulkadir from the Wellington Water Watchers echoed these sentiments, highlighting the physical infrastructure requirements of data centers, including land, energy, and significant water consumption.
Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Vic Fedeli, emphasized the province’s commitment to prioritizing data centers that employ closed-loop systems to conserve water. This system, similar to a car radiator, minimizes water consumption by reusing water. Ford echoed this sentiment, underlining the government’s focus on promoting builds with closed-loop systems that significantly reduce water usage.
While acknowledging the importance of data protection and sovereignty, Schreiner criticized the playbook as falling short of robust regulations necessary to safeguard communities. He stressed the need for stringent measures to ensure that communities have control over data center developments, advocating for a moratorium until such regulations are in place.
Looking ahead, Coun. Colleen James tabled a motion earlier this week for the Region of Waterloo council to prepare an information report on data center development and its impacts. The report, expected to be completed early next year, aims to provide elected officials with essential insights into the economic and environmental implications of data center expansion in the region.