Toronto seeks provincewide framework for data centres

Toronto city council has asked Ontario to create a provincewide framework to examine the impacts and rules around data centres, after residents raised concerns about water use, electricity demand and noise from proposed projects in Scarborough and Etobicoke. The request came during council discussion of two motions on Thursday. One passed unanimously and directs staff to seek a provincial framework, review city policy on data centre approvals and keep councillors informed about new applications. It also asks that any local approvals line up with a planned 2027 provincial report on oversight. Some residents and advocacy groups said the city should have gone further by imposing a temporary moratorium, arguing that current approval processes do not give communities enough say. Councillors said the issue is growing as demand for AIrelated computing rises, while cities across Canada increasingly debate how to regulate large data centres.