An independent public resource.
An independent, sourced resource tracking publicly known data centre developments across Ontario, including approvals, infrastructure considerations, regulatory frameworks, and industry trends.
Operational, under construction, and publicly disclosed facilities. Each entry is based on publicly available sources including ERO filings, municipal planning documents where available, and corporate or government announcements.
| Name ↑ | Municipality | Status | Power (MW) | Last updated |
|---|
When a new data centre is announced in Ontario, the public conversation often treats all facilities as interchangeable. They are not. A carrier hotel in downtown Toronto, a colocation campus in Markham, and a hyperscale AI facility in Vaughan have fundamentally different footprints, in electricity consumed, water drawn, and noise produced for surrounding communities.
Buildings where dozens of telecom companies, ISPs, and internet exchanges physically connect to each other. The value is who else is in the building, not the facility itself. Multiple independent operators can share the same address.
Power draw is distributed across many smaller tenants. Most are air-cooled. External noise impact is relatively low. 151 Front Street West was purpose-built in 1954 as a telecommunications hub, not a conversion from another use.
The operator provides the physical infrastructure, including the building, power, cooling, and security, while tenants bring their own servers. The operator does not control or know what runs on tenant equipment. This is the most common model in Ontario.
Power draw varies with the size of the campus. Newer facilities generally achieve better energy efficiency. Cooling varies: some use chilled water systems (higher water use), others are air-cooled. Backup generator testing can create periodic noise for neighbours.
Built by a single company exclusively for its own use: Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta. Not open to other tenants. These generate the most significant public infrastructure discussions in Ontario.
A single campus can draw far more power than other facility types. Cooling approaches vary: some facilities use evaporative cooling, which consumes water, while others use air-cooled or closed-loop systems. Cooling type should be confirmed from planning documents for each site. Generator testing and cooling equipment can create a significant noise footprint.
Industrial or commercial properties built or retrofitted to the structural and electrical specifications a data centre requires, but not yet occupied by a data centre operator. A newer category emerging across the GTA.
The actual energy, water, and noise profile of these sites is entirely unknown until a tenant is confirmed and a facility type is known. “Data centre power procurement underway” is a signal that a tenant may already be committed.
Measured by PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness). Ontario does not require operators to report PUE publicly.
Driven by cooling technology, not facility type alone. AI chip density is the key variable. Ontario does not require water consumption reporting.
Sources include cooling equipment and backup generator testing. Municipal noise by-laws apply but continuous low-frequency industrial noise is difficult to enforce.
| Information | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Power capacity (MW) | Inconsistent | Some operators publish capacity in marketing materials. For several sites this tracker follows, no MW figure appears in any public planning document. |
| PUE (energy efficiency) | Sometimes public | Published by some operators in sustainability reports, usually at company or regional level, rarely per building |
| Actual electricity consumption | Not public | No Ontario requirement to report consumption by facility. |
| WUE / water consumption | Rarely public | Where available, figures typically come from municipal planning filings rather than operator disclosure. No Ontario reporting requirement exists. |
| Cooling technology type | Sometimes public | Larger operators often reference air vs. water cooling in spec sheets or sustainability reports |
| Certifications (LEED, ISO, Uptime) | Typically public | Operators market certifications; independently verifiable through certifying bodies |
| Carbon emissions | Rarely public | Some large operators publish Scope 1/2/3 at corporate level. Per-facility figures are almost never disclosed in Ontario |
| Noise assessments | Sometimes public | May appear in municipal planning filings or environmental assessments if required. Not consistently available |
This tracker cites figures where operators have voluntarily disclosed them, and clearly states when information is not publicly available. The goal is not to fill gaps with estimates but to make the gaps themselves visible. Residents, municipalities, and policymakers deserve to know what they are, and are not, being told. Read the full explainer in Updates →
What exists, what is proposed, and where accountability gaps remain. Each item is tagged by status.
Bill 40 (Protect Ontario by Securing Affordable Energy for Generations Act, 2025) received Royal Assent on December 11, 2025. It adds section 28.1 to the Electricity Act, 1998, which prohibits transmitters and distributors from connecting a "specified load facility," including a data centre that meets criteria set by regulation, unless connection requirements specified in regulation are met.
The Act leaves the key details to regulation, which is made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. That includes how "data centre" is defined, what size or location thresholds apply, what approvals are required, and who grants them. The Act permits those requirements to include criteria related to economic development and job creation.
Section 28.1 does not apply to a facility whose connection request was submitted to a transmitter or distributor before June 3, 2025.
Bill 40 also adds economic growth to the objectives of the IESO and the Ontario Energy Board.
The Act itself does not create reporting or disclosure obligations for data centre operators.
Electricity Act, 1998, as amended by Bill 40, SO 2025, c. 22
Released August 13, 2026 as a draft for public comment. The Playbook proposes assessing new data centres against three provincial priorities (advancing economic development, protecting data security and digital sovereignty, and investing in communities and earning public confidence) to inform grid connection approvals. It also proposes a separate electricity rate class for large new data centres. The comment period closed September 12, 2026. The Province has said a final Playbook will follow alongside its AI Industrial Strategy.
The Playbook addresses grid connection. It does not address municipal land-use planning or zoning approvals.
Environmental Registry of Ontario, ERO 026-0853
Announced by the Government of Canada on September 3, 2026. The principles set five expectations: data centres must create lasting local benefits, must not shift electricity costs to Canadians, must minimize water use and environmental impacts, must be transparent about local impacts, and must bring strategic value to Canada. They are principles, not regulation, and include no enforcement mechanism.
On September 11, 2026, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) submitted "Balanced Priorities, Local Benefits: A Framework for Data Centre Development" to the Playbook consultation. Its five recommendations include a collaborative review process involving the Province, municipalities, and Indigenous communities, and a commitment to maintaining full municipal planning and development approvals.
Association of Municipalities of Ontario, September 11, 2026
With no provincial land-use framework for data centres, some Ontario councils have acted on their own. Examples include:
These questions identify areas where public information is incomplete or evolving. This section is updated as new information becomes available.
Regulatory developments, facility announcements, best practices from other jurisdictions, and community impact reporting. Updated as news develops.
Simple explanations of key terms used in discussions about Ontario data centres, AI infrastructure, and electricity planning.
This tracker is only as accurate and complete as the information available to us. We actively welcome tips, corrections, source documents, and facility information from residents, municipal staff, journalists, and industry insiders.
All submissions are reviewed before being incorporated. We do not publish the names of people who send us information unless they ask to be credited.