Nova Scotia premier defends changing his stance on welcoming data centre proposals

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston is defending his decision to change his stance on when data centres might be considered for approval to operate in the province.

In June, the premier said it was too soon to turn his government’s attention to the matter and it would not be discussed until far into the future.

“A lot has happened… in the world, geopolitics, all kinds of situations there,” Houston told reporters Thursday.

“When you look at some of the positioning of the federal government around data sovereignty, around the regulations that would be required, (they) definitely were thoughtful and had an impact on me.”

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In the summer, the premier said discussions about data centres would have to wait until the province had completed major energy generation projects, including the ambitious Wind West offshore wind farms.

“We’re going to generate significant amounts of energy … (and) at that point in time, that would be a more appropriate discussion,” he said on June 18.

At the time, the premier said the discussion about data centres “is so far out in the future … but there wouldn’t be a commitment to a data centre unless we could fully supply the energy without any risk to Nova Scotians.”

Late last month, however, Houston softened his position, saying data centres are becoming increasingly critical pieces of infrastructure, adding that Canada can’t rely on other countries to store its data. He said he became more open to considering data centre proposals after Ottawa rolled out its new rules.

“I think the sentiment of that (June) statement was that we wouldn’t allow an impact on ratepayers,” Houston said Thursday. “We’re not going to drive up the rates to let another user, any type of industrial use, have their power while households and Nova Scotians pay more. That sentiment remains.”

Data centres, used in artificial intelligence and other high-tech industries, are typically massive operations that require immense amounts of electricity to run and cool off computer servers.