A large majority of Canadians in a recent poll said they worry that artificial intelligence data centres will hike their power bills and harm the environment.
In the Leger poll, 81 per cent of respondents said they are concerned about the prospect of data centres leading to spikes in their household electricity bills.
A similar share, 79 per cent, said they worry about the environmental impacts, such as the large amounts of electricity and water data centres consume, as well as their greenhouse gas emissions.
When the survey touched on the issue of data sovereignty and asked respondents whether they support building data centres to back Canadian-based AI services, more were in favour than were opposed.
Just under half, 46 per cent, said building the facilities to give Canada more control over data would be a good thing, while 37 per cent said it would be a bad thing.
“We’re seeing evidence that there is a bit of a divided opinion amongst Canadians regarding the construction of these data centres around the country,” said Andrew Enns, Leger’s executive vice-president for Central Canada.
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That division also emerged when respondents were asked how they felt about the prospect of AI data centres being built in their own provinces. While 44 per cent said they would support such a development, 42 per cent said they would oppose it.
The online survey of 1,505 people was conducted between July 10 and July 13. The Canadian Research Insights Council, an industry organization that promotes polling standards, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.
Leger also found awareness of data centres among Canadians was relatively high — 62 per cent said they had heard of them.
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The respondents were also asked about the supply of electricity to AI data centres.
Most, 58 per cent, said provincial governments or electricity providers should supply electricity for AI data centres.
Just under a third said they should do so only if the companies pay the full cost of the power and any required infrastructure.
Another 31 per cent said data centre companies shouldn’t be able to access public electricity and should be responsible for meeting their own energy needs.
There are plans to dramatically expand data centre capacity in Canada and the vast majority of that work is set to take place in Alberta, where the centres could draw their power from natural gas plants and not the electrical grid.
Public opposition to data centres has emerged across the country — including in Alberta — and in June, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew rejected plans for a massive data centre southeast of Winnipeg.
Who writes a ten paragraph comment, grab a friggin brain!
No more saddles or buggy whips, the horror of it all, the horror!
Tinfoil sales are up sharply at this point.
The Oligarchs who have their dirty hands in these Data Centers don’t care. No Jobs, etc. Only Robotics.
Has anyone noticed how fast they’re being built against the Demands of Canadians and Globally? The wealthy including our Governments, Federal and Provincial are Ignoring the people’s Demands. What can be done at this point?
This is getting real Scary :(
It’s just the latest thing to get in an uproar about. Look at the picture they post?
Your electric bill will grow
Brownouts and/or blackouts will also follow because our electric grid experiences trouble with every little storm
Imagine what will happen with a data center running continuously
Building AI data centers in Alberta could put upward pressure on residential electricity bills, according to statements from the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). However, the actual impact on your wallet depends entirely on how these facilities are powered and how provincial regulations manage the sudden surge in demand.
The primary cost drivers, offsetting factors, and legislative interventions shaping your utility bills involve several key components:
⚡ Why Bills Could Rise
• Grid Strain and Power Demand: AI data centers consume immense amounts of electricity. The AESO has noted that connecting massive new loads to the grid before new generation is built forces the existing fleet to work harder, which naturally drives wholesale market prices up.
• Natural Gas Market Competition: Because Alberta’s strategy heavily favors natural gas to power these facilities, critics like the Pembina Institute warn that increased industrial demand could expose consumers to intense market competition for natural gas. This can trickle down as higher home heating and electricity bills.
• Infrastructure and Plant Construction Costs: Building new power plants and transmission infrastructure to support massive loads requires multi-billion-dollar capital investments. In a deregulated market, these staggering upfront costs can ultimately be passed down to ratepayers.
⚖️ Why Bills Might Stay Protected (or Even Drop)
• The “Bring Your Own Power” Mandate: To protect everyday consumers, the Alberta government has pushed a policy requiring large data centers to supply their own electricity off-grid or build dedicated on-site generation. For example, Meta’s massive private investment in Sturgeon County includes fully funding its own adjacent gas-and-renewable generation.
• Sharing Transmission Costs: Government officials point out that when massive corporations fully fund new grid infrastructure, it spreads the system’s fixed transmission costs across much larger power users. This could theoretically reduce transmission fees on an average Albertan’s utility bill by up to six per cent.
• Market Incentives for New Supply: In Alberta’s unique investor-owned market, a period of higher prices acts as a magnet for developers to build new generation rapidly. According to AESO market logic, this incoming wave of new supply eventually drives wholesale prices back down.
📜 Government Intervention: Bill 12
To further insulate Albertans from subsidizing corporate tech infrastructure, the province introduced Bill 12 (the Data Centre Levy). Starting at the end of 2026, grid-connected facilities using 75 megawatts or more must pay a 1% to 2% tax on their computing hardware. This levy is specifically designed to capture provincial revenue from international tech giants and offset the structural strain placed on the electrical grid.
Data centres are the biggest imminent threat to contribute to coming huge increases in electricity costs. Also a contributor to your electricity bill skyrocketing will be the increased number of EV’s given that the numbers of CCP owned vehicles will undoubtedly increase in Canada more than the small number initially announced by Carney. Not only will the cost of electricity skyrocket but also the downstream costs of food production and manufacture that rely on electricity will increase and in the end the consumer … you and I …. Will pay the full costs. Data centres are just the canary in the coal mine that show us what is going to happen with electricity costs. God help us all !!!
The sky is falling,the sky is falling!
A symptom of government rushing towards the latest shiny object.
Dave – “Let me know when the hypocrites give up their data plans”.
You have no idea what you are talking about. You are confusing data transfer to my phone or home electronics with centres that process data before transitting it to my phone across my carriers hardware network.
This is AI data centres which are massive resource hogs.
If your governments are contemplating rolling blackouts to avoud catastrophic electricity grid failures, they should not be entertaining AI data centres at all.
Let me know when the hypocrites give up their data plans