Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled the province’s fresh data center framework on Thursday, emphasizing the importance of keeping Canadians’ data within Canada. This framework evaluates data center approvals based on three core pillars: economic development, data protection and sovereignty, and community investment and public confidence.
During the announcement in Guelph, Ford highlighted that the new data center playbook aims to foster the economy of the future, driving billions in economic growth, boosting tax revenues, and generating thousands of new jobs. The framework mandates that data centers cover the full cost of their electricity consumption, pushing projects to establish their own power generation and introducing a distinct rate class for large new data centers that surpasses existing industrial rate programs for significant electricity users.
The province clarified that it will not provide financial incentives to attract investments and emphasized that the framework will play a crucial role in supporting its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. The AI strategy is anticipated to yield economic benefits, including $122 billion in economic growth by 2035 and the annual creation of 17,000 new jobs.
This announcement comes amidst deliberations by municipalities across the province regarding moratoriums on data centers, with Oakville recently voting to enact a one-year moratorium and Mississauga set to vote on a similar measure in September.
Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner recently called for a pause on new data centers, expressing concerns about the appropriation of local resources by corporations and advocating for stronger regulations to protect communities. Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, pledged to prioritize data centers that implement closed-loop systems, which reduce water consumption by recycling water.
Despite the government’s assertions, Schreiner criticized the playbook for lacking specifics and robust regulations. He emphasized the need for stronger protections for communities and asserted that the Ontario Greens will continue to call for a moratorium until stringent regulations are in place.
Waterloo region is also examining the local impacts of data centers, with Coun. Colleen James tabling a motion for an information report to educate officials about the development and impacts of data centers. The report is expected to be completed early next year to provide insights into the economic and environmental ramifications of data center expansion in the region.