Want to build a data centre in Canada? These are the federal government's new expectations

Want to build a data centre in Canada? These are the federal government's new expectations

Framework is non-binding, but AI minister says provinces, territories, municipalities have power

The federal government has announced a new framework outlining key expectations for responsible data centre development, as politicians and companies grapple with public pushback to the infrastructure underpinning AI technology.

"If we don't build the infrastructure of the future here, we will have to buy it from somewhere else. And if we don't innovate here, we will rent that from someone else," AI Minister Evan Solomon said at a news conference in Markham, Ont., on Thursday morning.

But Solomon said the federal government is aware that trust is vital for AI development, and the new principles will help people and companies "understand what responsible development looks like and what Canadians expect from projects that are seeking to build in their communities."

The framework sets out five expectations for data centre projects, saying they must:

According to the federal government, the principles are supported by a "broad cross-section of Canada's data centre, cloud, artificial intelligence and technology sectors."

Several top companies are listed as signatories to the framework, including Amazon Web Services, Anthropic, Bell Canada, Cohere, eStruxture, Hypertec, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and Telus.

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Solomon emphasized the five expectations do not mean there's a new federal approval process — and do not replace provincial, territorial or municipal responsibilities.

Asked how these expectations will then protect Canadians, Solomon said they have been endorsed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities — an advocacy group representing more than 2,000 municipalities.

"This is not for the federal government to say what a city, a town, a rural place in a province or territory should ask — but they should be armed with the fact they are beginning not three steps back, but three steps ahead."

Data centre pushback across Canada

The principles are being released at a time when politicians at all levels of government are facing public pushback about data centres over concerns about noise, costs and environmental impacts.

According to a poll from Leger, which surveyed 1,505 Canadians in July, 46 per cent of respondents viewed data centre development as positive, compared to 37 per cent who viewed it as negative.

But the poll also found Canadians are more divided on AI data centre development in their own province; 44 per cent of respondents supported the idea, while 42 per cent opposed it.

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The Alberta government has been running town halls across the province on this issue, following an announcement from tech giant Meta that it plans to build a $13-billion AI data centre project northeast of Edmonton. It is to be fed by a $4.6-billion natural gas-fired power plant.

At the town halls held so far, Alberta officials have faced fury from rural residents about prospective data centre projects, but the officials argue they bring economic benefits and will be constructed responsibly.

A similar outcry occurred in Vancouver earlier this summer, when hundreds of demonstrators marched to oppose the construction of two new AI data centres in the city. They called for the projects — a partnership between Telus and the federal government — to be halted.

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Some politicians have responded to concerns by outright denying certain projects, as Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew did earlier in June when he announced a large AI data centre pitched for a 141-hectare tract of farmland south of Winnipeg will not go ahead.

Others are keen to attract more development, but have laid down their own core expectations, like Ontario Premier Doug Ford, when he announced his province's Data Centre Playbook last month.

According to the document, data centres in Ontario must invest "substantially" in the province and local communities, and must pay the full cost of electricity. Plus, Ontario will only offer "non-financial support to attract data centre investments."

Benjamin Lopez Steven is an associate producer for CBC's The House and a digital writer with CBC Politics. He was also a 2024 Joan Donaldson Scholar and a graduate of Carleton University. You can reach him at benjamin.steven@cbc.ca or find him on X at @bensteven_s.