Toronto city council has requested the provincial government develop a framework looking at impacts and concerns surrounding data centres, but some residents are speaking out that council should have taken “stronger action” to implement a moratorium. 

It comes as council discussed two motions Thursday evening regarding two data centres, one in Scarborough and another in Etobicoke.

The first motion, which passed 25 to 0, put city staff to work requesting several reports and changes, including:

The creation of a provincial framework through community and city engagement by the first quarter of 2027.

Ensure any municipal approvals on data centres align with the upcoming 2027 report on data centre oversight.

Advise local councillors of any data centre applications upon receipt.

A review of city policy on development and approval of data centres. 

The growth of AI has increased the demand for data centres to store, process and run data and software. Protests have sparked across the country — including in Toronto and Mississauga earlier this week — over concerns about how much land, water and electricity these sites consume.

Coun. Parthi Kandavel said over 4,800 constituents signed a petition calling for “greater scrutiny, clear answers and real safeguards” after an American-owned data centre in Scarborough proposed an expansion with 56 megawatts of capacity.

“A proposal of this size raises serious questions,” he said. “The [city’s] current process is not adequate for infrastructure of this scale.”

Kandavel said authority to approve data centre applications are delegated to city staff, meaning council doesn’t vote. There are no public consultations and local councillors or communities are not made aware of applications. 

But some residents are saying council failed to deliver on a temporary pause of the Scarborough expansion and any proposed “hyperscale” data centres, said advocacy group Common Horizon in a news release.

Community organizer Lubaba Gemma said leaders need to prioritize residents’ lives over private U.S. companies’ projects.

Common Horizon organizer Carter Gorzitza said cities across Canada are starting to oppose data centres, and that Toronto should follow to implement its own moratorium.

A second motion was adopted by council Thursday to request an urgent meeting with the local councillor and a data centre applicant in Etobicoke on potential impacts and to address community concerns. 

Lots of questions regarding impacts, operation: councillor

Kandavel said the city and his staff organized a public meeting for over 100 concerned residents and the owners of the Scarborough data centre, who did not choose to attend. 

“Foreign ownership, don’t get me wrong, does not automatically mean a project is inappropriate. But, it does mean we should ask questions,” he said.

Coun. Shelley Carroll said Toronto could become a leader by having centres with regulations that are “green, compliant and people are able to live with it.”

Carroll added the city already has some data centres, but that they are not “large scale.”

Coun. Alejandra Bravo said she’s received over 600 petition signatures from worried residents.

She said while communities in the U.S. initially welcomed data centres with open arms, some states are reconsidering due to impacts. That’s a consideration being seen across Canada, she said.

On Wednesday, Mississauga voted in favour of a one year data centre moratorium while the city studies their impact and regulation, and to consult with communities.

Earlier this month, Hamilton rejected a moratorium on new data centres due to them potentially threatening new investments in the city’s industrial sector and jeopardizing smaller data centre proposals with research components.

Coun. Rachel Chernos Lin also cautioned city staff to ensure the province doesn’t overtake Toronto’s decision-making power while producing the framework.

“We have seen over and over again that [the province has] taken over planning matters and we no longer have a say,” she said.