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Canada Sets Five National Principles for Responsible Data Centre Development

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Courtroom-sketch editorial illustration of a long perspective view down a Canadian data centre aisle, with dark server cabinets and fenced equipment bays under fluorescent ceiling lights, rendered in warm ochre and slate-blue pastel strokes.

Canada’s federal government launched five national principles for responsible data-centre development, with 23 AI, cloud and infrastructure companies signing on. The framework calls for lasting local benefits, no shifting of electricity costs to Canadians, minimized water use and environmental effects, transparency about local impacts, and strategic value for Canada. It sets a national baseline rather than a federal project-approval system; provincial, territorial, municipal and Indigenous regulatory processes continue to shape decisions. Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon announced the principles in Ontario with Federation of Canadian Municipalities president Tim Tierney.

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