Mississauga is expected to adopt a bylaw next week that will place a moratorium of at least one year on construction of huge AI data centres in the city.

However, the large facilities, a source of severe public backlash in Mississauga and far beyond, are likely to be built in the city at some point in the near future, the mayor said this week.

“I have a feeling the pressure is going to be on very shortly with all the (U.S.-Canada) tariff problems to keep our databases here in Canada, which means there will be pressure on us to accept data centres whether we like it or not,” Mayor Carolyn Parrish said at Wednesday’s general committee meeting at city hall.

Parrish’s comments and other discussion among councillors and senior City of Mississauga staff followed the presentation of a staff report outlining the Ontario government’s latest “playbook” for the building of data centres across the province.

A controversial issue in Canada and the U.S. 

AI data centre construction has become a controversial issue not only in Mississauga and throughout Ontario, but across the country and in the U.S. as well.

In his report, Mississauga’s Planning and Building Commissioner Andrew Whittemore noted the provincial government on Aug. 13 released additional details on its data centre strategy in a document dubbed “Playbook for New Data Centres.”

Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish, shown here at Wednesday’s general committee meeting, says it’s likely only a matter of time before new data centres are built in the city and beyond.

In late July, city councillors unanimously agreed to direct staff to develop an Interim Control Bylaw that would impose a moratorium of one year — and up to two years — on data centre developments in Mississauga to allow the city more time to study the matter and any new rules that would regulate the rapidly growing industry.

Council’s decision followed some two dozen deputations from residents and other stakeholders at the July 29 city council meeting, the vast majority of whom spoke against the large new facilities.

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Proposed bylaw up for approval next week

The proposed Interim Control Bylaw will be brought back to city council on Sept. 16 for approval.

The province’s data centre “playbook,” Whittemore said in his report, “is very high level with the most notable items being a proposed new (higher) electrical rate class for data centres and a more centralized provincial approval process.”

He added “significant regulatory and legislative changes would be needed to implement elements” of the strategy.

Staff’s position, the commissioner noted, is that while they “continue to support provincial efforts to regulate the development of data centres and are generally supportive of the proposed regulations, further details on the implications to municipal planning application and approval processes are needed and several areas of concern need to be addressed.”

More information on data centres to come in the fall

To that end, the report continued, city staff will forward comments and concerns to the provincial government by Sept. 12.

And it’s at the Ontario government’s doorstep where the matter belongs, Parrish argued.

“I think somebody at Queen’s Park should be regulating this rather than us, and give us very clear guidelines so we don’t have false information circulating.”

Staff said another report will be prepared in the fall as the city gathers more information about the path forward with respect to the large data centres.

Discussion at the July 29 city council meeting was prompted by a motion from Ward 9 Coun. Martin Reid that sought to temporarily halt the development of major data centres in Mississauga.

The motion called for an Interim Control Bylaw that would prohibit new large-scale digital infrastructure facilities — including artificial intelligence, cloud computing and hyperscale data centres — for up to one year while the city undertakes a comprehensive planning study. 

Pause is citywide

The temporary pause applies citywide and can be extended to a second year if additional time is needed to complete the review. 

Parrish said post-vote at that meeting residents’ fear of the unknown as it relates to huge data centres and their impact is understandable.

“We don’t know what data centres” are going to bring to Mississauga, and other communities, she said at the time.

The July 29 discussion, which took up most of the day inside council chamber at city hall, came after months of growing concern among residents over a proposed Prologis data centre in Meadowvale.

Nearby homeowners have raised questions about electricity demand, water consumption, noise, greenhouse gas emissions, traffic, emergency preparedness and the relatively small number of permanent jobs created by such facilities. 

Mississauga Ward 9 Coun. Martin Reid tabled motion to pause development of data centres in the city.

“Council recognizes the economic opportunities associated with digital infrastructure while recognizing the need for a comprehensive municipal framework before permitting additional large-scale facilities,” Reid’s motion stated. 

The proposal also noted that while data centres are becoming increasingly important to Canada’s economy, artificial intelligence development, cybersecurity and national security, Ontario has yet to establish a planning or regulatory framework specifically for AI data centres and other large digital infrastructure. 

Data centres are critical infrastructure

Proponents say data centres have become critical infrastructure as more of everyday life moves online. 

Everything from streaming services, online banking and Google Maps to cloud computing and artificial intelligence depends on data centres to store, process and move enormous amounts of digital information. 

The rapid growth of AI has dramatically increased demand for new facilities capable of handling advanced computing workloads. 

Despite their growing importance, data centres have also become increasingly controversial in communities across Ontario — and far beyond. 

Residents near the proposed Prologis facility on Tenth Line West in Meadowvale have questioned the amount of electricity and water needed to operate the building, the potential for noise from cooling equipment and backup generators, greenhouse gas emissions, and whether the facilities generate enough permanent jobs to justify their demands on public infrastructure. 


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