How Canada can overcome the backlash against AI data centres

OPINION How Canada can overcome the backlash against AI data centres KATHLEEN KAUTH AND TYLER HAMILTON SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO Open this photo in gallery: People march in Vancouver to protest the opening of AI data centres, in June. DARRYL DYCK/THE CANADIAN PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Kathleen Kauth is the chief operating officer at Mantle Climate and Tyler Hamilton is the senior director of climate at MaRS Discovery District. The authors were among the contributors to Data Centres: Sharing the Load, a report examining the economic and energy implications of data centre growth. Ontario just became the latest jurisdiction to take a hard look at AI data centre development. The province’s new Data Centre Playbook seeks to offer a framework that can move such projects forward in a way that addresses the concerns of community groups, local municipalities and activists across the country. Recent months have seen protests against the massive facilities that store and process digital information, including in Toronto, Mississauga, Vancouver, Regina, Saskatoon, Burlington, Ont., and beyond. Stopthedatacentre.ca, which organizes local community members against data centre construction, lists 27 municipalities where its campaigns are currently active. In a recent Angus Reid poll, 68 per cent of Canadians said they would oppose a large AI data centre near their home. In its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, the federal government outlines an approach to AI that focuses on data sovereignty, which requires the construction of physical AI infrastructure within the country’s borders. What’s missing from that strategy, however, is a unified approach that gives community members a reason to welcome their construction, or any mechanism to fund research into best practices and requirements. AI data centres are the future. Canada must overcome the backlash Without a data centre development strategy, the National AI Strategy will continue to face costly delays and challenges. That’s because Canadians have been given little incentive to accept these large development projects into their backyards. Their concerns are both practical and psychological. Residents worry that data centres will strain local electrical grids and water resources, drive up electricity rates, increase GHG emissions, generate noise and air…