What's behind the growing backlash towards AI data centres?

As AI information centres rapidly manifold crossways magnetic north America, so too does the oppositeness towards them. 

While there are currently only five hyperscale data centres in Canada, there are 96 facilities either proposed or under construction across the country, according to a recent York University study. 

But protests against these projects have been growing across the country, driven by concerns about how much land, electricity and water these massive facilities consume. 

Here's a breakdown of the opposition these projects are facing and the concerns driving it. 

Projects in Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan have been the subject of large protests and other forms of opposition in recent months over concerns about potential environmental and health impacts.

In Hamilton, hundreds of people gathered outside city hall before and during a city meeting where a planning tribunal was weighing a developer's application that would split a large plot of land into two parts, one of which would be used for "hyperscale and enterprise data centres."

In Vancouver, demonstrators marched through the city at the end of May to protest two planned AI data centres, raising concerns about the amount of water and energy such facilities can use as the region faces tighter water restrictions.

Another project slated to be built near Regina was also the subject of a protest at the provincial legislature in April, while a local group of residents in Olds, Alta., has banded together to stop a proposed data centre from being built in the town of about 10,000 residents.

In some cases, the pushback may be stopping, or at least delaying, these projects from moving forward. 

The application for the Hamilton project was ultimately denied after city officials heard a plethora of concerns from people about their fears over the impact of AI on the environment, employment, and creativity, and shared fears about pollution from a data centre negatively affecting their health.

In Manitoba, an online petition against a large AI data centre planned for a rural area south of Winnipeg gathered more than 13,500 signatures. 

Premier Wab Kinew said that project won't go ahead, saying he was concerned about the impact on both the environment and the rural community.

Meanwhile, a new Angus Reid poll found that 68 per cent of respondents would oppose a large AI data centre being built within a few blocks of where they live, suggesting the opposition may more widespread.

Research shows AI requires much more power than other internet services do to operate. 

On average, a single query run through the generative artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT needs nearly 10 times more electricity than a standard Google search. 

That means AI data centres draw huge amounts of electricity as a result. 

According to the York U study, a typical 100 megawatt data centre "would consume approximately 438,000 to 700,800 megawatt-hours annually — equivalent to the electricity consumption of roughly 40,000 to 64,000 Canadian households."

UN researchers say data centres consumed an estimated 448 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025. 

If treated as a nation, that would make data centres the world's 11th largest electricity consumer, the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health said in a report released on June 3. 

The report warned these centres have a massive carbon footprint as a result, generating 189 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the same year. 

UN report highlights environmental impacts of AI data centres

Along with electricity, data centres also need a huge amount of water for their cooling systems. 

The same UN report found that data centres globally consumed 4.5 trillion litres of water in 2025, enough ​to meet the needs of more than 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa.

However, some developers say modern data centres are able to mitigate these problems.

Matt Milton, president of Microsoft Canada, said Microsoft is using new techniques to reduce water use, while a Utah project backed by celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary would use a closed-loop cooling system that reuses water to reduce water consumption. 

Some companies are also investing in off-grid power generation to avoid straining electricity grids.

Beyond environmental concerns, the centres also seem to be a target of people's overall anxiety over AI. 

In Hamilton, some protesters carried signs critical of artificial intelligence more broadly. 

The Angus Reid poll found that 68 per cent of respondents wanted governments to heavily regulate AI, even if it slows development. Fifty-two per cent said they thought AI data centres were a bad thing for job creation, while just 16 per cent thought AI was a good thing for job creation. 

Concerns over AI leading to job losses come as tech companies lay off workers amid a shift toward agentic AI. 

Last month, Meta laid off nearly 10 per cent of its workforce, while Jack Dorsey's Block cut his company's staff almost in half in February. Microsoft and Amazon have also mentioned shifts to AI after laying off thousands of workers in the last year.

Blayne Haggart, a Brock University political science professor, says these data centres give people something physical to direct their anger at — an argument he says was first put forward by U.S. Political scientist David Karpf.

"They're kind of the embodiment of this kind of like, malaise and antipathy and anger against AI," he said. 

"For young people, you know, it's destroying entry-level jobs. And mid-career workers, they see AI being used as an excuse to hollow out their workforces, leaving them kind of alone and overworked."

How AI is shifting the job market?

Meanwhile, the Canadian government is aiming to scale up AI adoption. 

Its long-awaited AI strategy released Thursday outlines plans to boost business adoption of AI and provide all Canadians with access to free AI literacy training. 

The plan also sets a goal of creating up to 250,000 new jobs through AI adoption, an angle that was panned by opposition parties who cast doubts on how the mass adoption of AI will lead to more jobs. 

Senior writer

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