첥Ƶ researchers have produced the first comprehensive map of Canada’s data centre landscape, offering new insight into where facilities are, where they are being built and what their rapid growth could mean.
Data centres – large industrial facilities that power cloud computing and AI – have become critical infrastructure supporting the world’s growing digitization. Everything from streaming video and online banking to scientific research and generative AI depends on their ability to store, process and move enormous volumes of data.
As demand for digital services continues to rise, these centres sit at the root of that growth. And, as they become more pervasive, conversations about broader implications are growing.
“Data centres are increasingly part of public debate because of concerns about energy use, environmental impact, local economic effects and data sovereignty in Canada,” says Lyndsey Rolheiser, an assistant professor at the .
Despite the growing significance, there remains a notable gap in publicly available information about these facilities.
“There is very little systematic evidence to inform that discussion,” says Alexander Carlo, a postdoctoral researcher at Schulich. “At a basic level, we do not have a clear picture of where data centres are located in Canada or where new ones are being developed.”
Rolheiser and Carlo set out to address that gap by creating the first comprehensive map of Canada’s data centre landscape. Their work, now and to be included in the forthcoming Schulich School of Business Real Assets Research Paper Series, documents both existing facilities and the growing pipeline of projects that have been announced or are under construction.
The authors built their analysis around a proprietary dataset from Aterio, a data intelligence firm that aggregates information on large‑scale infrastructure projects. Using permitting records, utility filings and company disclosures, they tracked facilities from initial announcement through construction to full operation, then layered in census and provincial electricity data to assess location, scale and energy implications.
Once completed, they mapped out a much clearer picture of how Canada’s digital infrastructure is changing. The analysis shows that while Canada’s current data facilities footprint remains relatively modest, the pipeline of planned facilities is nearly 10 times larger – and those new centres are far bigger than older ones, reflecting a shift toward hyperscale infrastructure designed to support AI.
Future development is also highly concentrated: Alberta alone accounts for more than 90 per cent of planned capacity, despite relying on a comparatively high‑emissions electricity grid. At the same time, new facilities are increasingly being built far from major cities, often hundreds of kilometres from urban cores. Meanwhile, provinces with cleaner electricity systems, including Quebec, Ontario and B.C., have begun restricting or carefully managing grid access for large new data centres.
These patterns reflect a set of broader concerns the authors explore in the paper. Data centres consume enormous amounts of electricity – often equivalent to tens of thousands of households per facility – while creating relatively few long‑term jobs compared with the scale of public infrastructure they require. Their expansion can reshape provincial power systems, raise emissions concerns and crowd out other users. The authors also point to questions of data sovereignty, since most large facilities are owned by foreign firms and to the risk that some projects could become stranded assets if AI demand slows or climate policy tightens.
While Rolheiser and Carlo do point to these risks, the aim of the research is to ground future discussions in evidence. “This is a necessary first step for any informed policy or public debate,” Rolheiser says.
“At a minimum,” Carlo adds, “the paper should help clarify what the current landscape looks like and where development is taking place.”
Both researchers hope their work contributes to more informed discussions about data centres in Canada, and provides a solid evidence base that helps policymakers and the public better understand these sites and their impacts on grid access, emissions and economic benefits.