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The federal government has announced a new framework outlining key expectations for responsible data centre development, as politicians and companies grapple with public pushback to the infrastructure underpinning AI technology.<\/p>\n
“If we don’t build the infrastructure of the future here, we will have to buy it from somewhere else. And if we don’t innovate here, we will rent that from someone else,” AI Minister Evan Solomon said at a news conference in Markham, Ont., on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
But Solomon said the federal government is aware that trust is vital for AI development, and the new principles will help people and companies “understand what responsible development looks like and what Canadians expect from projects that are seeking to build in their communities.”<\/p>\n
The framework sets out five expectations for data centre projects, saying they must:<\/p>\n
Create lasting local benefits.Not shift electricity costs to Canadians.Minimize water use and environmental impacts.Be transparent about local impacts.Bring strategic value to Canada.<\/p>\n
According to the federal government, the principles are supported by a “broad cross-section of Canada’s data centre, cloud, artificial intelligence and technology sectors.”<\/p>\n
Several top companies are listed as signatories to the framework, including Amazon Web Services, Anthropic, Bell Canada, Cohere, eStruxture, Hypertec, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and Telus.<\/p>\n
WATCH | Solomon announces new guidelines:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788455290_131_default.jpg\")
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Without Canadian data centre rules, ‘we will have to follow someone else’s,’ minister says<\/p>\n
AI Minister Evan Solomon announced new frameworks for responsible data centre development on Thursday. Solomon says the principles will allow for ‘more capacity at home’ and push to ‘build responsibility.’<\/p>\n
Solomon emphasized the five expectations do not mean there’s a new federal approval process \u2014 and do not replace provincial, territorial or municipal responsibilities. <\/p>\n
Asked how these expectations will then protect Canadians, Solomon said they have been endorsed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities \u2014 an advocacy group representing more than 2,000 municipalities.<\/p>\n
“This is not for the federal government to say what a city, a town, a rural place in a province or territory should ask \u2014 but they should be armed with the fact they are beginning not three steps back, but three steps ahead.”<\/p>\n
Data centre pushback across Canada<\/p>\n
The principles are being released at a time when politicians at all levels of government are facing public pushback about data centres over concerns about noise, costs and environmental impacts.<\/p>\n
According to a poll from Leger<\/a>, which surveyed 1,505 Canadians in July, 46 per cent of respondents viewed data centre development as positive, compared to 37 per cent who viewed it as negative.<\/p>\n But the poll also found Canadians are more divided on AI data centre development in their own province; 44 per cent of respondents supported the idea, while 42 per cent opposed it.<\/p>\n WATCH | The push for AI data centres is growing. So is the angry backlash: The push for AI data centres is growing. So is the angry backlash<\/p>\n As the federal government’s newly announced AI strategy champions more giant data centres, a growing number of Canadians want nothing to do with them, including Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew who just killed a plan to build one near Winnipeg. Backlash is also growing across the U.S.<\/p>\n The Alberta government has been running town halls across the province on this issue, following an announcement from tech giant Meta<\/a> that it plans to build a $13-billion AI data centre project northeast of Edmonton. It is to be fed by a $4.6-billion natural gas-fired power plant<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the town halls held so far<\/a>, Alberta officials have faced fury from rural residents about prospective data centre projects, but the officials argue they bring economic benefits and will be constructed responsibly.<\/p>\n A similar outcry occurred in Vancouver earlier this summer, when hundreds of demonstrators<\/a> marched to oppose the construction of two new AI data centres in the city. They called for the projects \u2014 a partnership between Telus and the federal government \u2014 to be halted.<\/p>\n Some politicians have responded to concerns by outright denying certain projects, as Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew did earlier in June<\/a> when he announced a large AI data centre pitched for a 141-hectare tract of farmland south of Winnipeg will not go ahead.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788455292_30_default.jpg\")
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