Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said on 22 September that 19 more organisations had signed the Responsible Data Centre Development Principles, bringing the total to 42. The federal framework, launched on 3 September, asks developers to address the local, electricity and environmental effects of projects intended to expand Canada’s computing capacity.
Key points
- The government says signatories have risen from 23 at the framework’s launch to 42.
- The principles cover local benefits, electricity costs, water and environmental impacts, transparency and strategic value to Canada.
- AMD, IBM, Intel, Nvidia, Lenovo, Schneider Electric, STACK Infrastructure and Vantage Data Centers are among the new signatories.
- Saskatchewan’s separate Data Centre Framework calls for developers to arrange their own power generation capacity.
Canada’s five expectations for data centres
The federal government says projects covered by its principles should deliver lasting benefits locally and protect electricity customers from project-related costs. Developers are also expected to limit freshwater consumption and other environmental effects, give communities information about local impacts, and contribute strategic value to Canada. These are expectations for signatories to a voluntary framework, rather than a new federal permission that a developer must obtain before building.
The electricity provision puts the question of who pays for new demand alongside the question of where a data centre gets its power. Blake, Cassels & Graydon, a law firm, describes the federal expectation as avoiding the transfer of project-driven electricity costs to Canadians or damage to grid reliability. Its account of the principles says a project may need to contribute new supply, infrastructure, storage or flexibility in demand where required.
The same account gives more detail about the other expectations. It says proponents should engage communities and Indigenous rights holders early to identify benefits reflecting their priorities. They should report transparently on freshwater use and environmental impacts, respect local approval processes and support Canada’s longer-term capacity to store data and perform computing domestically. Those expectations describe the conduct sought from developers, while leaving existing approval processes in place.
The government places the principles within AI for All, its national artificial intelligence strategy, and its effort to expand sovereign AI infrastructure and computing capacity. Evan Solomon, the minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation, made the case for domestic construction in the announcement: “If we don’t build it here, we’ll have to buy it from someone else.” He said the expansion should protect communities and ratepayers while delivering economic benefits.
AMD and Vantage join 42 signatories
The new names span several parts of a data centre project. Alongside AMD, IBM, Intel, Nvidia and Lenovo, the government lists Kyndryl, OnX and Global Relay. STACK Infrastructure, Qu Data Centres and Vantage Data Centers are also among the additions. Their signatures broaden participation in the federal framework across the companies that supply technology and those involved in operating computing facilities.
Energy and construction interests appear on the government’s list too: Clearway Group of Companies, EllisDon, Energy Storage Canada, Enwave Energy Corporation, Potentia Renewables Inc., Red Jar Energy Partners and Schneider Electric. Slate Asset Management is the remaining new signatory. The variety matters for principles that address more than the computers inside a building: power supply, construction and the effects of a project on its surroundings all fall within their scope.
The government says the number of signatories has grown from 23 when the principles began on 3 September to 42. Signing expresses a commitment to the government’s approach to development. Blake, Cassels & Graydon says the federal principles create no new approval process or requirement for data centres. For a developer, the signature therefore sits alongside, rather than replaces, the approvals that apply to a particular project.
Saskatchewan puts power supply on developers
Saskatchewan’s Data Centre Framework takes up several of the same concerns but sets out its own priorities for assessing proposed facilities. Blake, Cassels & Graydon says its six principles address Canadian ownership, data sovereignty, Saskatchewan jobs and partnerships, operating experience, developers bringing their own power, and a centralised provincial intake for proposals. The firm describes the provincial and federal approaches as broadly aligned.
Under Saskatchewan’s bring-your-own-power provision, data centre proponents are to develop generation capacity or arrange for it themselves, according to the law firm. The framework is intended to keep projects from adding pressure to the electricity system or displacing capacity used for exports to other provinces. That places a more particular supply responsibility on developers than the federal principles’ expectation that electricity customers should be protected from project costs.
The firm says questions remain about how that provision will work with SaskPower’s exclusive right to supply electricity in the province and whether consent rules for generation on a site could change. It also says the Saskatchewan framework contemplates a coordinated intake for proposals, while municipalities appear to retain planning and development authority. The framework does not alter or clarify environmental impact assessment requirements, leaving proponents to determine whether an assessment is needed for a particular project.
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