More than 20 artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic PBC, have signed on to a new federal framework for data-centre development, as local opposition to these facilities grows.
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opposition → include → facilities
Federal AI minister Evan Solomon announced five broad principles for building data centres on Thursday at an event in Markham, Ont.
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Solomon → announce → Markham
Developers must minimize water use and other environmental effects, be transparent about the impact on the local area, and not shift electricity costs on to Canadians.
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Developers → minimize → Canadians
Developers must also create lasting local benefits and bring “strategic value” to the country, the minister said.
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minister → create → country
The government said the principles are meant to “complement existing provincial, territorial, municipal and Indigenous regulatory processes by setting a national recognized baseline,” according to a news release.
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principles → say → release
American cloud providers Amazon Web Services Inc. AMZN-Q, Microsoft Corp. MSFT-Q and Google GOOGL-Q have signed on, along with Meta Platforms Inc. META-Q, which is building a $13-billion data centre complex in Alberta.
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which → sign → Alberta
Some regions of Canada have seen an influx of data-centre proposals as demand for AI continues to skyrocket.
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demand → see → AI
Opposition has mounted at the same time, with some Canadians concerned about electricity costs, water consumption, noise and the loss of land.
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Canadians → mount → land
Data centres have also become a focal point for general anxieties about AI and the dominance of massive technology companies.
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centres → become → companies
According to a Leger poll published in July, 42 per cent of the 1,505 Canadians surveyed oppose data centre development in their own province, while 44 per cent support it.
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cent → accord → it
Albertans were the most likely to strongly oppose development.
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Albertans → oppose → development
Provinces such as Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia have already been taking steps to prevent runaway data-centre development, particularly when it comes to allotting electrical capacity.
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it → take → capacity
The Ontario government put forward a development playbook in August, proposing to charge data centres a higher electricity rate.
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government → put → rate
That follows provincial legislation last year requiring that data centres meet certain criteria related to local economic benefits and digital sovereignty in order to connect to the electrical grid.
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centres → follow → grid
Municipalities have taken action as well.
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Municipalities → take → action
Oakville, Ont., introduced a one-year moratorium in August, while council in Mississauga will vote on a similar proposal later this month.
“I’m not trying to fight with councillors and cities who have real questions.
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who → introduce → questions
Today is literally about saying, those are good questions,” Mr. Solomon said in an interview.
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Solomon → say → interview
“Maybe some city councillors haven’t had a good assurance that there’s an answer, and so then they’re like, ‘Let’s have a moratorium.’”
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’s → have → moratorium
Ottawa’s new data centre principles were developed with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, with input from other levels of government, industry and Indigenous and environmental groups.
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principles → develop → government
The framework is not legally binding, but Mr. Solomon said the fact that companies have committed to the principles publicly is still meaningful.
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companies → bind → principles
“There can be demands that then the municipality and the province can hold them accountable for,” he said at the event.
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he → hold → event
Under the framework, local benefits could include job creation, skills training and research partnerships, while limiting environmental effects could involve closed-loop cooling systems to reduce water use, low-emission energy sources and waste heat recovery.
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limiting → include → use
Companies will be expected to provide information about power, water use, noise levels and emissions, Mr. Solomon said.
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Solomon → expect → power
Ottawa has been encouraging data-centre development for the past couple of years, particularly as a way to strengthen digital sovereignty and ensure that Canada has more control over AI and cloud computing infrastructure, along with the data that is housed at these facilities.
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that → encourage → facilities
A recent Nanos poll conducted for The Globe and Mail found that the digital sovereignty message is not strongly resonating with Canadians, however.
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message → conduct → Canadians
Only 8.2 per cent of respondents listed data sovereignty as a top benefit, while 6.5 per cent cited national control over infrastructure as an advantage.
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cent → list → advantage
The public backlash to AI data centres could also prove to be a political vulnerability for some elected officials, and an opportunity for others.
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backlash → prove → others
Federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis, for one, has seized on public sentiment and called for a pause on new construction of these facilities.
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Lewis → seize → facilities
AI has become a flashpoint in some U.S. elections.
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AI → become → elections
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro issued an executive order in August to block “speculative, irresponsible” developments, while his opponent for re-election, Stacy Garrity, said it was “damage control” after “rolling out the red carpet” for developers.
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it → issue → developers
Alberta’s government has courted data centres, in part because the province has abundant supplies of natural gas to produce electricity.
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province → court → electricity
As part of Meta’s efforts to engender goodwill in the province during its data-centre build-out, the social media giant is spending $60-million on infrastructure upgrades and providing grants to local non-profits.
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giant → engender → profits
Anthropic, the San Francisco-based AI giant behind the Claude chatbot, could also have its eye on Alberta.
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Anthropic → base → Alberta
Anthropic recently posted a job for someone to lead the company’s compute strategy in Canada and ultimately bring “gigawatts of compute online” in the country.
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Anthropic → post → country
It’s also hiring for a data centre community engagement manager based in Alberta to make the company “a trusted, visible, and valued neighbour.”
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company → hire → Alberta
The Aporia
