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.
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 moderate (5–20 MW), distributed across many small 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 — building, power, cooling, security — and 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.
Purpose-built campuses typically draw 10–50 MW. Newer facilities achieve better energy efficiency. Cooling varies: some use chilled water systems (higher water use), others are air-cooled. Generator testing noise affects neighbours weekly or monthly.
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 100–500+ MW (equivalent to tens of thousands of homes). AI workloads produce extreme heat, requiring liquid or evaporative cooling that can consume millions of litres of water annually. Largest noise footprint of any type.
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). Modern hyperscale achieves 1.1–1.2; older facilities can reach 2.0+. 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. Microsoft's YTO 11 voluntary disclosure is the exception, not the norm.
Sources: cooling towers (continuous), backup generators (weekly testing, 85–100 dB at source). Municipal noise by-laws apply but continuous low-frequency industrial noise is difficult to enforce.
| Information | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Power capacity (MW) | Typically public | Operators usually publish maximum capacity in marketing materials |
| 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. IESO tracks large customers but does not publish by facility name |
| WUE / water consumption | Almost never public | Microsoft's YTO 11 voluntary estimate is a rare exception. 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 legislation exists, what it does and does not do, and where the accountability gaps are. Updated as regulations are published.
Bill 40 amends the Electricity Act, 1998 and related statutes to introduce new rules governing how large electricity load facilities, including data centres, connect to Ontario's electricity grid.
The legislation enables the Minister and the Ontario Energy Board, through regulation, to establish connection requirements and approval processes for specified load facilities above defined demand thresholds (including thresholds that may be set in regulation).
It also expands the objectives of Ontario's electricity system to explicitly include economic growth and allows those objectives to be considered in connection and transmission decisions.
The framework gives government and regulators discretion to define criteria for connection approval, including facility type, electricity demand, geographic factors, and required conditions for grid access.
This is a grid connection and system planning mechanism that operates alongside Ontario's existing regulatory framework. It does not, within the Act itself, introduce new reporting or disclosure obligations for data centre operators; however, further requirements may be established through regulation.
The consultation process for the proposed framework concluded in late 2025, and implementing regulations have not yet been published as of this update.
Source: Electricity Act, 1998 (as amended by Bill 40, SO 2025, c.22) · Ontario Legislative Assembly
The Bill 40 consultation focused on matters related to electricity grid connection for large load facilities, including connection size thresholds, geographic considerations, system cost allocation, and criteria related to economic development and grid access.
These questions primarily relate to how and under what conditions facilities are permitted to connect to Ontario's electricity grid.
The consultation was not structured as a comprehensive review of long-term post-connection reporting, environmental disclosure frameworks, or ongoing operational transparency requirements.
At this stage, the legislation and accompanying framework do not include new mandatory reporting requirements for data centres once operational.
Exists: Voluntary disclosures by some operators relating to energy use, cooling systems, and community investment. Where available, these are referenced in individual facility profiles and attributed to public statements or filings.
Not standardized province-wide:
Pending: Regulations under Bill 40 that will define the ministerial approval and grid connection framework for specified load facilities, including eligibility criteria, approval processes, and conditions for connection. These details have not yet been finalized.
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. Sources are attributed where permitted, or kept confidential on request.