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The Globe is reporting from cities and towns in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia to hear from residents about the issues affecting their communities and their votes in the municipal elections.
On a recent early fall evening, the mayor and six councillors of the southwestern Ontario township of Centre Wellington took their seats around a wooden horseshoe table in council chambers overlooking the picturesque village of Elora.
The elected officials settled in for what was, in many ways, a typical small-town council meeting. They presented certificates to local teenage athletes and smiled for photos. They debated parking charges, approved a plan from the fire chief and passed a heritage designation for a 174-year-old limestone cottage.
They also grappled with a big challenge: How should they handle a controversial proposal for an AI data centre in the neighbouring town of Fergus?
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A tech company proposes to build a data centre at this old copper tubing plant at 865 Gartshore St. in Fergus, Ont., about a two-hour drive from Toronto.
Before them was a motion for a one-year moratorium on data centre projects in the area, which would allow staff to study possible issues with such facilities and develop guardrails. One councillor said a freeze was particularly important because of province-wide municipal elections later this month.
“I really hope that this gives the new council the opportunity to understand what this is all about and make sure we’re doing the right thing for our community,” said Councillor Bronwynne Wilton, who proposed the motion.
Policy-makers in towns and cities across the country are wrestling with complex and rapidly evolving technological challenges as an influx of AI data-centre proposals collide with residents’ concerns about energy demands, water use and noise. In the Greater Toronto Area, councillors in Mississauga and Oakville recently imposed one-year moratoriums on new data centre developments.
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Signs across from the proposed data centre promote candidates for Centre Wellington township.
In Centre Wellington, a largely agricultural area of 35,000 people that includes the twin communities of Fergus and Elora about 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto, some residents are concerned about plans for an AI data centre. Spur Innovation, a Waterloo-based tech venture studio and AI infrastructure operator, is proposing to retrofit an old copper tubing plant into a data centre.
The former Wolverine Tube site in Fergus currently stands vacant; Spur calls it a “contaminated brownfield.” Video surveillance and no trespassing signs hang on a chain-link fence around the 25-acre property as a flock of Canada geese wander in a grassy field. Across the street is a neighbourhood with tidy homes and a nearby elementary school.
After reading local media coverage of Spur’s data centre plan in the summer, Carolyn Sharp, an artist who lives in Elora, started a petition calling for a moratorium. It received more than 2,300 signatures. “The community definitely does not want it,” she said. “It just feels like it’s being forced upon us, and I think there should be a lot more strict regulations in place.”
In a presentation during the Sept. 28 council meeting, Ms. Sharp urged the township to “take a measured approach to a development that could fundamentally change the footprint of this community” by taking time to develop stronger standards for noise, energy, water, air quality and environmental protection.
Mayor Shawn Watters heard opposing arguments about data centres from Carolyn Sharp, who wants a local moratorium, and Sharif Virani from Spur Innovation, the company behind the Fergus proposal.
Sharif Virani, chief executive officer of Spur Innovation, also addressed councillors and argued that the project would support the area’s agricultural focus.
Mr. Virani said the first phase of the plan is for an air-cooled data centre under 10 megawatts. The rest of the property would be “a test space for agricultural robotics, food innovation in a county where farming actually happens,” he said.
“These computers are not the building; they are the utility in the corner,” he said.
Spur hasn’t yet submitted an application to the municipality, however. Asked about timing, Mr. Virani said “it’s a longer-tailed question” involving financing and supply issues. He later said in an e-mail to The Globe that “we are still in consultation and planning.” The company has other AI data centres, including in the former BlackBerry RIM headquarters in Waterloo.
Before council debated the motion, Brett Salmon, the township’s managing director of planning and development, told councillors they could prohibit data centre developments for a year and could later extend the freeze by an additional year under Ontario’s Planning Act.
Councillor Jennifer Adams called on the Ontario government to provide “real legislation with real regulations” to help guide municipalities, noting that AI is advancing rapidly. “They definitely have more resources than we do,” she said.
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The data-centre proposal on Gartshore Street is one of many to crop up across Ontario as governments commit to expanding the technology.
Other towns and cities have also urged Queen’s Park to act. In a submission last month, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario asked for “clear and consistent provincial guidance” for communities and a “collaborative process” for reviewing proposed facilities that involves the government, municipalities and Indigenous communities.
The provincial government did not provide specific responses to questions from The Globe about Centre Wellington councillors’ call for stronger standards governing AI data centres. Premier Doug Ford has been critical of moratoriums.
Evan Robinson, a spokesperson for Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, said the province “will continue to work” with municipalities and companies on digital infrastructure projects.
Mr. Robinson noted that the government launched its data centre “playbook” in the summer “to ensure Ontario is well positioned to benefit from the tremendous economic opportunities AI adoption will bring, while protecting critical data, safeguarding people’s information and ensuring Canadians’ data stays in Canada.” The framework requires data centres to pay their full electricity costs and invest in communities.
In Centre Wellington’s council chambers, as the view through tall windows turned from daylight to sunset to inky black night, the mayor and councillors voted unanimously to pass a one-year moratorium on data centres. Light applause rippled from the crowd.
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