OTTAWA – Across Canada, a significant surge in the construction of new data centres is being planned to support the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) technology. However, alongside this expansion, there are rising concerns among residents regarding the potential impact these facilities may have on their communities. The data centres have increasingly become emblematic of the anxieties surrounding AI advancements.
David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, remarked, “An AI data centre is like the physical avatar of AI. And so it’s just like concrete and steel, physical space of a technology that increasingly I think Canadians are worried is going to have a really disruptive impact on their lives.” He highlighted local anxieties related to the substantial resources required by these centres, focusing on issues surrounding electricity consumption, water usage, and noise pollution.
The topic of data centres is gaining traction in political discussions from municipal levels up to the federal government in Ottawa. Opposition voices have emerged from various locations across Canada, including Vancouver, Olds in Alberta, and Hamilton, where residents are actively protesting proposals for new facilities. In Olds, residents have rallied against a plan for a large campus consisting of ten buildings with a total capacity of 1.4 gigawatts of gas-fired power generation. A demonstration in Vancouver took place in June, while a proposed data centre in Hamilton's harbourfront has elicited strong pushback from the community.
Canada currently has approximately 337 megawatts of AI data centre capacity, with projects in the planning or development stages anticipated to exceed 20 gigawatts. Government statements assert that this figure does not reflect the expected total capacity, which will likely be lower. Research from York University suggests that, as of June 2026, the nation has 194 active facilities with a combined capacity of 1.6 GW and an additional 213 projects in the planning stages, projecting a total potential capacity of 22.2 GW.
Most of the planned data centres will be constructed in Alberta, which represents a striking 92 percent of the proposed capacity despite only holding 3.3 percent of Canada’s current active capacity. Lyndsey Rolheiser, an urban economist from York University, explained that Alberta’s abundance of energy sources, particularly natural gas, presents an attractive option for data centre developers due to the deregulated market that allows for on-site energy generation.
Modern data centres, particularly those for AI, are larger and often situated in rural areas, marking a shift from traditional facilities that residents might be more familiar with. Anne Pasek from Trent University points out that the growing scale and visibility of these projects have increasingly caught media and public attention, linking them to broader concerns about the implications of AI in everyday life.
Pasek notes that opposition to data centres is often viewed as a broader rejection of AI technology itself, particularly as residents voice fears regarding job displacement, unauthorized data usage, and the potential for AI to be used for nefarious purposes. Concerns about environmental impact, health issues due to pollution, and the stress these developments may put on local water and electricity supplies further compound public unease.
Political discourse surrounding AI has taken on a contentious tone, with calls for a national moratorium on new data centre constructions. Federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis criticized the federal government for rushing into AI development without adequate regulatory frameworks to safeguard communities. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party has shown a split in opinions regarding new projects, such as the proposed hyperscale data centre by Meta in Alberta, leading to discussions about who will benefit from such infrastructure if it proceeds.
With approaching municipal elections in Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia, Coletto believes data centres will quickly become a prominent political issue. Polling indicates a divided sentiment among Canadians, with 46 percent supporting the development of facilities for Canadian AI services, while 37 percent oppose it. As debates in the United States regarding similar issues unfold, the Canadian discourse on data centres may evolve, potentially signaling a shift in local opposition.
Pasek indicates a surprising bipartisan consensus exists among those opposing data centres, cutting across various political ideologies. This growing convergence of concerns points toward a more unified public sentiment against the unchecked expansion of data centres and AI development.
