‘Reflexive and honest’: AI data centre backlash reflects public concerns, analyst says

Technology analyst Daniel Bader speaks about new polling on how Canadians feel about AI data centres and what's driving opposition to them.

As Ottawa rolls out a national artificial intelligence strategy, there’s growing opposition to the data centres needed to power the technology.

Daniel Bader, a technology analyst, says protests against AI data centres reflect broader public concerns about artificial intelligence and its impact on communities.

“I think it’s a reflexive and honest response to the fact that people perceive data centres as environmentally damaging,” Bader told CTV Your Morning on Monday. “These are places that use enormous amounts of energy, drive up the cost of energy for Canadians like us, and generally feel like they’re not part of the community.”

The federal government’s national AI strategy was unveiled last week by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon.

The plan aims to boost AI adoption, create jobs and build what Ottawa calls sovereign AI infrastructure. Among its targets are creating up to 90,000 AI-related jobs and increasing AI adoption among businesses from 12 per cent today to 60 per cent by 2034.

• READ MORE: PM Carney government’s AI strategy pledges thousands of jobs, lacks safety details

But recent polling suggests Canadians are wary of both the technology and the infrastructure supporting it.

According to a survey by the Angus Reid Institute, 68 per cent of Canadians say governments should heavily regulate AI and technology companies, even if doing so slows development. Seventy-four per cent say they do not believe governments are capable of keeping pace with the technology.

The survey also found 68 per cent of Canadians would oppose a large AI data centre being built within a few blocks of their home.

Bader said many Canadians do not yet feel they are benefiting from the investments being made in artificial intelligence.

“The investment that Canada is putting towards AI does not feel like it’s coming down to them specifically, and it’s aimed more at businesses and the owners of the AI IP in Canada,” he said.

Provincial pushback

Opposition to AI-related projects has surfaced in several provinces.

In British Columbia, hundreds of people marched through downtown Vancouver in May to protest two planned AI data centres proposed by Telus and backed by the federal government. Protesters raised concerns about water use, energy consumption and the broader impacts of AI development.

In Saskatchewan, residents protested a proposed 300-megawatt AI data centre outside Regina that is projected to become Canada’s largest purpose-built AI facility

Last week, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced that a proposed AI data centre southeast of Winnipeg would not proceed, saying its energy demands and community impacts outweighed its economic benefits.

Bader said concerns about water use are often overstated “because of something called a closed-circuit system.”

“They don’t use an excess amount of water,” he said. “What they do is they use an excessive amount of energy, and I think that’s really where we’re going to feel it as ordinary Canadians.”

Bader said the debate over energy consumption is likely to intensify as more facilities are proposed.

“I think most people … don’t want to use AI on a regular basis if it’s not benefiting them,” he said. “And I think right now, the existential risk to the job market, to our kids’ health and safety, to so many of the things that we cannot control, is being reflected in these mass demonstration and opposition to data centres.”

Bader said Canadians who oppose such developments are likely to make their concerns known through local and provincial politics.

“I think this is something that we can take to the polling stations and make our votes heard and support candidates … that are opposing these strategies,” he said. “I think as Canadians get more well informed about how these data centers can impact local infrastructure and drive up energy costs, that will be something that the federal government will not be able to ignore.”