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 built upon three core pillars: economic development, data protection and sovereignty, and community investment alongside public confidence.
During the announcement in Guelph, Ford highlighted that the new data center playbook aims to bolster the future economy, fostering billions in economic growth, increased tax revenues, and the creation of numerous job opportunities. The framework also mandates data centers to cover the full extent of their electricity usage costs, promoting projects to establish their own power generation and implementing a distinct rate class for large new data centers, set higher than existing industrial rate programs for major electricity users without passing on costs to Ontario families.
In a bid to enhance the province’s artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, which is projected to yield economic benefits amounting to $122 billion in growth by 2035 and generate 17,000 new jobs annually, Ontario’s framework will serve as a crucial facilitator.
Addressing concerns about financial incentives, Ford confirmed that the province will not provide such incentives to attract investments. This announcement comes amidst several municipalities in Ontario contemplating 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, along with Ilham Abdulkadir of the Wellington Water Watchers, called for a halt on data centers, expressing concerns over the impact on local water resources and communities. Schreiner emphasized the need for stringent regulations to protect communities from the adverse effects of data centers, advocating for a moratorium until such safeguards are in place.
The Ontario Greens, led by Schreiner, stress the importance of community control over data center developments and advocate for strong regulations to shield people and communities from potential risks associated with data centers. The province aims to prioritize data centers utilizing closed-loop systems to reduce water consumption, aligning with the push for sustainable practices in data center operations.
As the debate on data centers continues, municipalities like the Region of Waterloo are exploring the local impacts and implications of data center developments. Coun. Colleen James tabled a motion to prepare an information report for the Region of Waterloo council to better understand the economic and environmental ramifications of data centers, indicating the growing importance of addressing these issues within local communities.
