Canadians Fear Power Bill Spikes Amid AI Data Centre Expansion

A recent Leger poll indicates that a significant majority of Canadians are concerned that the expansion of artificial intelligence data centres will lead to increased household electricity costs. According to reporting from CityNews Toronto, 81 per cent of respondents expressed worry that these facilities could cause spikes in their power bills.

Beyond financial concerns, 79 per cent of those surveyed cited worries regarding environmental impacts, specifically greenhouse gas emissions and the high volume of water and electricity consumed by data centres. Despite these fears, opinion remains split on the issue of data sovereignty; 46 per cent of respondents believe building facilities to increase Canadian control over data is a positive development, while 37 per cent view it as negative.

Public sentiment is similarly divided regarding local development, with 44 per cent supporting and 42 per cent opposing the construction of AI data centres within their own provinces. Regarding energy procurement, 58 per cent of respondents believe provincial governments or electricity providers should supply the power. However, just under a third of respondents believe companies should only receive public power if they cover the full cost of the energy and infrastructure, while 31 per cent argue that data centre companies should be entirely responsible for meeting their own energy needs.

While capacity is set to expand significantly across Canada—with much of the work planned for Alberta, where natural gas plants may be used instead of the electrical grid—opposition has emerged. CityNews Toronto reports that Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew rejected plans in June for a large-scale data centre located southeast of Winnipeg.