New framework commits data centres to protecting electricity ratepayers, limiting water use and delivering lasting benefits for Canadians
Data centres are critical infrastructure for Canada. They support the health care system, financial services, scientific research and secure government systems that Canadians rely on, and they power the digital economy and artificial intelligence (AI).
Canada currently relies significantly on infrastructure and services based outside the country for the compute, cloud and data storage that power AI. Building more capacity here at home will give Canada greater resilience and choice, while helping Canadian researchers, innovators and businesses build, deploy and scale.
Today, the Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, joined by Tim Tierney, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), announced Canada's Responsible Data Centre Development Principles.
The principles establish a common national framework for how Canada builds the data centre capacity it needs. The framework sets five clear expectations for data centre projects:
- Data centres must create lasting local benefits.
- Data centres must not shift electricity costs to Canadians.
- Data centres must minimize water use and environmental impacts.
- Data centres must be transparent about local impacts.
- Data centres must bring strategic value to Canada.
The principles are supported by a broad cross-section of Canada's data centre, cloud, AI and technology sectors. Signatories' commitments will help grow Canada's digital infrastructure responsibly and promote a consistent, community-centred approach to data centre development across Canada.
Data centre development decisions are fundamentally local, shaped by regional priorities, regulatory approvals and unique community needs. These national principles are intended to complement existing provincial, territorial, municipal and Indigenous regulatory processes by setting a nationally recognized baseline that communities can use when considering major projects. Together, these principles will support responsible investment, give communities greater clarity and help Canada build the digital infrastructure it needs for the future.
List of signatories
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Anthropic
- Beacon Data Centers
- Bell Canada (BCE)
- BUZZ High Performance Computing (BUZZ HPC)
- Cohere
- Cologix
- Denvr Dataworks
- Equinix
- eStruxture
- Hypertec Group
- Meta
- Micrologic
- Microsoft
- OpenAI
- OVHcloud
- Prologis
- QScale
- Sovereign Digital Infrastructure
- TELUS
- ThinkOn
- Urbacon Data Centre Solutions
