Mississauga councillor wants pause on AI data centres as Toronto councillors grapple with proposed facilities

As communities across Canada and the United States deal with a surge in proposed AI data centres, councillors in the Greater Toronto Area say they’re trying to push for a more comprehensive response amid environmental concerns. During a meeting of Mississauga city council on Tuesday, Coun. Martin Reid is set to introduce a notice of motion calling for an interim control bylaw to stop the development of “major digital infrastructure facilities” for up to a year so City staff can conduct a planning study as well as a thorough review of bylaws and policies.

CityNews met with Reid on Monday at the site of what he said would be the first massive, hyperscale data centre in the community. Located on Tenth Line west of Winston Churchill Boulevard and Highway 401 and near Lisgar GO station, the site is nestled next to a house, a church, greenspace and an existing warehouse. But just hundreds of metres away, there’s a large shopping centre along with current and proposed housing subdivisions.

When speaking with residents, Reid said he’s heard examples raised of cities in the U.S. involving excessive water and electricity consumption. Without large-scale examples in the GTA, he said it leaves a lot of uncertainty.

“There are still so many questions that need to be answered, and until we have a fulsome understanding of it this is not something that I feel that I can responsibly support,” Reid said. Related: Fears are widespread about data centre impacts on Canada’s water, environment: poll “We’re not sure what the tenant is going to be using it for, so there are worst-case scenarios that we read, there are totally safe examples that we read and the reality is that we’re somewhere in the middle with no clear answers. “Let’s do our homework first before we say yes.” In the absence of detailed and concrete information on the impacts to residential communities and local infrastructure, Reid said he wanted to see a pause put in place — something he added he’s heard some support for from fellow council members.

“I’m not reading this as saying this is the same as Wichita, Utah, somewhere where they’re taking away all the water from our water table, and there’s going to be this massive hum all night long,” he said. “I’m concerned about all of those extreme examples, but I haven’t got any certainty that it’s not going to be that. And until I’m certain that it’s not going to be …

With community needs and buildings remaining empty, Toronto councillors are hoping the province will hand the keys over to the former Ontario Science Centre.