Doug Ford says Ontario needs data centres to protect Canadians from Trump

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says more data centres should be built in the province to protect Canadian data from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Speaking at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) convention in Ottawa on Monday, Ford argued that data centres could be used to combat the threat that Trump poses to Canadians’ data sovereignty.

“Ontario has a choice: we can build the economy of the future and ensure Canadians’ data remains in Canada or we can get left behind and risk Canadians’ data being sent to the U.S. and into the hands of President Trump,” said Ford. “That guy would cut us off in about three seconds and so we need to make sure we have data sovereignty in our own hands.”

Data centres have become increasingly prevalent as tech companies rely on them to pursue their AI-driven business. However, these facilities have also been met with intense public pushback due to the costs associated with them, particularly with respect to their heavy energy and water consumption and, in Canada, the implications of foreign tech giants like Meta increasing their presence in provinces like Alberta. This has led Canadian municipalities Mississauga and Oakville to enact moratoriums on the installation of data centres to give politicians more time to review their many potential impacts.

During the AMO convention on Monday, Ford acknowledged these concerns but made a number of claims to assuage them. In particular, he referred to the new framework that his government published last week that outlined how the province would regulate data centres.

Additionally, he said Ontario would not offer financial incentives to drive more companies to build data centres in the province, saying his government plans to instead “rely on our natural competitive advantages, including our clean and reliable electricity system, available land, cool climate and, most importantly, our world-class workforce.”

He also stressed that Ontario won’t advance projects unless they meet environmental standards and “bring real benefits and significant investment in local infrastructure and host communities including investments in community centres, parks, roads, broadband infrastructure.” He also said that operators of data centres would be required to fully cover their own energy costs, with some even having to pay a premium.

“We have a historic opportunity to deliver for communities across Ontario, attracting millions of dollars in tax revenue while safeguarding people’s information and keeping it out of President Trump’s hands,” Ford said.

This comes two weeks after Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner called for a complete moratorium on data centres in the province. He argued that the government needs to study and regulate them before they should be permitted to move forward.

Image credit: Office of the Premier

Via: The Toronto Star