Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled the province’s fresh data center framework on Thursday, emphasizing its aim to uphold data localization within Canada. The framework is structured around three core principles: fostering economic development, safeguarding data, and ensuring community investment and public trust.
During the announcement in Guelph, Ford highlighted that the new data center playbook is designed to propel the economy forward, driving substantial economic growth, increased tax revenues, and the creation of numerous job opportunities. The framework mandates that data centers cover the entirety of their electricity consumption costs, encouraging self-power generation projects. Additionally, a distinct rate class will be established for large new data centers, ensuring that no additional costs are passed on to Ontario residents.
Ford emphasized that there will be no financial incentives offered to attract investments. The province emphasized that the framework will play a vital role in supporting its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, projecting significant economic growth of $122 billion by 2035 and the annual creation of 17,000 new jobs.
The announcement coincides with discussions in various municipalities across Ontario regarding moratoriums on data centers, with Oakville recently voting in favor of a one-year moratorium, and Mississauga set to vote on a similar measure in September.
Expressing concerns over the new playbook, Ontario Greens criticized the lack of specific regulations to protect water resources and local communities from data centers. They called for a moratorium until stringent regulations are in place to safeguard communities from potential negative impacts.
In response to these concerns, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Vic Fedeli, assured that data centers using a closed-loop system would be given priority. This system, similar to a car radiator, minimizes water consumption by reusing water, aligning with the province’s commitment to prioritize environmentally conscious data center builds.
While acknowledging the importance of data centers for the future, Ontario Greens emphasized the need for stringent regulations to ensure that communities have control over the development and operations of data centers, rather than letting corporations dictate the terms.
The Waterloo region is also assessing the local impacts of data center expansion, with Coun. Colleen James tabling a motion for preparing an information report to inform elected officials about the economic and environmental implications of data centers. The report is expected to be completed by early next year, shedding light on the ongoing discourse surrounding data center development in the region.