Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled the province’s fresh data center framework on Thursday, emphasizing the importance of keeping Canadians’ data within the country. The framework is structured around three core principles: fostering economic development, safeguarding data, sovereignty, and investing in communities to enhance public trust.
During the announcement in Guelph, Ford highlighted that the new data center playbook aims to bolster the economy, driving billions in economic growth, increased tax revenues, and thousands of new job opportunities. The framework mandates that data centers cover the entirety of their electricity expenses, encouraging self-power generation projects and introducing a distinct rate class for large new data centers, which exceeds the existing industrial rate programs for significant electricity consumers, with no cost burden on Ontario families.
Ford affirmed the province’s stance on not providing financial incentives to attract investments. The provincial framework is positioned as a critical facilitator of its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, projected to deliver substantial economic gains, including $122 billion in economic growth by 2035 and an annual creation of 17,000 new jobs.
The announcement coincides with ongoing discussions in various municipalities across Ontario regarding moratoriums on data centers. Oakville recently enacted a one-year moratorium, while Mississauga is slated to vote on a similar measure in September.
Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner, supported by Ilham Abdulkadir of Wellington Water Watchers, has called for a halt on new data centers, citing concerns about corporate benefits at the expense of local communities. Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, emphasized the province’s commitment to prioritizing data centers employing closed-loop systems, which minimize water consumption.
Despite the government’s assurance, Schreiner criticized the playbook for lacking specific regulations to ensure environmental protection. He stressed the need for stringent measures to safeguard communities from data centers’ potential adverse impacts, advocating for a moratorium until robust regulations are in place.
In a bid to address local impacts, Coun. Colleen James proposed an information report for the Region of Waterloo council to educate officials on the development and implications of data centers. James emphasized the significance of community-centric frameworks and safeguards in managing the expansion of data centers, with the report expected to be finalized early next year.
