Canada’s first proposed data centre freeze voted down in Hamilton

Hamilton city councillors have rejected a temporary pause on new data centres.

The 10-6 vote came after councillors emerged from a lengthy closed-door session with the city’s legal team who advised a data centre project led by McMaster University would be exempt under the proposed pause.

Hamilton would have been the first city in Canada to pass a data centre moratorium as lawmakers across the country wrestle with the noise, energy and water concerns around the new wave of facilities powering the boom in artificial intelligence.

Backers of the proposal said a pause would give the city time to draft guardrails and guarantee public benefits around any future data centres.

But critics of the moratorium said Hamilton, a city hit hard by steel tariffs, risked passing up on a major investment opportunity and turning away smaller, research focused projects.

Several councillors who voted against the pause also suggested it may not stand up to legal challenges.