Ontario proposes data centre playbook as demand for AI infrastructure surges

The Ontario government has proposed a Data Centre Playbook that will base data centre approvals on economic development, digital sovereignty, and community benefits, and plans to require data centres to pay full electricity costs. The province has launched a 30-day public consultation before finalizing the document, and will offer only non-financial support to attract investments. This comes as Ontario faces rapid data centre growth and growing municipal backlash, including a one-year moratorium in Oakville and a pending vote in Mississauga.

The Ontario government has announced the framework for a new Data Centre Playbook https://news.ontario.ca/assets/files/20260813/652439f5209093b5a8a7f0f12c795c1e.pdf that it says will set the terms for data centre development in the province. The news: The playbook will base data centre approvals around three main pillars: economic development, digital sovereignty, and community benefits. The province also says it plans to put laws in place that will ensure data centres pay full price https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/026-0853 for the electricity they use. However, the document has not yet been finalized, and the government has launched a 30-day public consultation https://ero.ontario.ca/user/login?action=comment&destination=/comment/reply/node/16431/comment to collect public feedback that will inform the final version. From the source: The Ontario government says it will only offer “non-financial support to attract investments.” In a news release, the province said that means things like “leveraging Ontario’s existing strategic advantages such as a clean and reliable electricity system, ample land space, cool climate, and skilled workforce.” The context: Ontario is experiencing rapid growth https://news.ontario.ca/assets/files/20260813/652439f5209093b5a8a7f0f12c795c1e.pdf in data centre development, as AI companies rush to build infrastructure to support their models. But backlash https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ai-data-centre-opposition-explained-9.7225796 against data centre development is growing. As residents raise concerns about the projects’ energy use, environmental impacts, and long-term economic benefits, municipalities are starting to respond. But with few data-centre-specific regulations on the books, those responses have been largely ad hoc. The Town of Oakville just put in place a one-year moratorium https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/oakville-data-centre-moratorium-9.7305034 on new data centre development, and Mississauga will soon vote on its own pause. Hamilton, meanwhile, recently voted down a proposed moratorium. Final thought: Other Canadian provinces have created their own policies to respond to the data centre boom, with dramatically different results. In June, Manitoba rejected a major proposal https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ai-data-centre-manitoba-9.7223138 for a 141-hectare hyperscale data centre, with Premier Wab Kinew saying the projects aren’t in the best interest of Manitobans. Meanwhile, Alberta has gone out https://betakit.com/albertas-technology-minister-continues-data-centre-courtship-at-digital-innovation-forum/ of https://betakit.com/danielle-smith-expands-ministerial-team-leading-albertas-100-billion-ai-data-centre-push/ its https://betakit.com/qa-why-albertas-data-centre-strategy-is-drawing-the-attention-of-tech-giants-like-meta/ way to court data centre development, and Meta recently announced https://betakit.com/meta-to-build-canadas-largest-data-centre-north-of-edmonton/ it will invest $13-billion to build a massive, hyperscale data centre north of Edmonton. Ontario appears to be cutting a path between these two extremes, but until it releases the playbook in its entirety, it’s difficult to see exactly where that path will lead. Feature image courtesy Doug Ford via Linkedin.