-
Canada welcomes EU leaders to Montreal for talks on next steps in relationship
Source: Global News Politics
Date: 2026-10-29 11:47:19.0
Tags: [National, Quebec, Trade, Economy, Technology, Energy]Prime Minister Mark Carney is hosting European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen and EU leaders in Montreal for bilateral talks aimed at forging closer strategic and economic ties. While full European Union membership is off the table, officials are negotiating an "alliance for the future" partnership focused on business, technology, clean energy, and critical minerals. The high-level summit has also sparked domestic political tension, with Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon pressing the federal government to secure a speaking role at the event.
Read Original -
Ottawa ‘not responsible’ for regulating AI data centre electricity use: minister
Source: Global News Politics
Date: 2026-10-22 17:21:43.0
Tags: [National, Nova Scotia, Technology, Energy, Infrastructure]Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon stated before the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology that the federal government is not responsible for regulating electricity usage by AI data centres, noting that power regulation falls under provincial jurisdiction. Solomon revealed that the federal government has received over 160 proposals for data centre developments and signed memorandums of understanding with approximately four companies. The discussion highlighted a specific $10-billion AI data centre project in Point Tupper, Nova Scotia, being developed by EverWind Fuels with a 20-year lease signed by U.S. AI firm Anthropic, which is slated to draw 95 megawatts in its first phase and expand to 420 megawatts by mid-2028.
Read Original -
Data centres face security risks amid growing strategic value: CSIS
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-10-11 19:30:20.0
Tags: [Alberta, National, Technology, Energy, Public Safety, Infrastructure]A May 27 Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) assessment warns that Canada's growing network of approximately 300 data centres faces rising security risks, including cyberattacks, physical threats, foreign ownership vulnerabilities, and supply chain bottlenecks for electrical components. Alberta Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish highlighted the province's push for sovereign computing infrastructure amid multi-megawatt developments, including a proposed Meta AI facility north of Edmonton, an AI centre near Olds, and the Wonder Valley project near Grande Prairie. The data centre market across Canada is projected to more than double over five years to reach US$25 million, prompting scrutiny over foreign ownership, data sovereignty, and robust domestic safeguards.
Read Original -
Read Mark Carney's full speech to the European Parliament
Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-09-17 18:04:15.0
Tags: [National, Trade, Economy, Defence, Energy, Technology]Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered an address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, welcoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's proposal for Canada to become the European Union's first associate member under a new "alliance for the future." Carney proposed deepening bilateral cooperation across strategic sectors including critical minerals—leveraging Canada's deposits of over 34 critical minerals—alongside energy security via liquefied natural gas and hydrogen supply, defense industrial capacity, artificial intelligence computing, and financial services integration. The proposed alliance aims to enhance collective resilience and sovereignty against geopolitical coercion without establishing a closed great-power rival bloc.
Read Original -
Bell plans expansion of Sask. AI data centre, making it largest private investment in province's history
Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-09-14 22:16:45.0
Tags: [Saskatchewan, National, Technology, Infrastructure, Energy, Economy]At an investment summit in Toronto hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney, Bell Canada CEO Mirko Bibic announced plans to quadruple the size of its artificial intelligence data centre near Regina, Saskatchewan, increasing its total investment in the Bell AI Fabric to $52 billion. The facility will expand from its original 300-megawatt capacity to 1.2 gigawatts of power, making it the largest private capital investment in the history of the province. The project, which requires Bell Canada to supply its own power, is projected to create up to 500 permanent jobs—including roughly 100 management roles—and an additional 3,000 positions in areas such as security and maintenance. The expansion follows the RM of Sherwood council's prior approval of the data centre in April 2026, though provincial officials did not immediately confirm whether the expanded footprint requires additional municipal review.
Read Original -
From pipelines, to railways and AI: Ottawa pitches 167 projects ahead of Carney's investment summit
Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-09-10 21:20:00.0
Tags: [National, Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Infrastructure, Energy, Transportation, Economy, Technology]The federal government has released a 66-page prospectus outlining 167 investment projects across eight sectors ahead of the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, co-hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney alongside the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Public Sector Pension Investment Board to attract $1 trillion in international capital. Notable infrastructure and energy proposals featured in the document include a $57 billion US expansion of the Port of Churchill, a $44 billion Nova Scotia Wind West offshore wind project, a $35 billion West Coast Oil Pipeline connecting Alberta crude to British Columbia, a $28.5 billion Ksi Lisims LNG terminal project on the B.C. coast, a $10.9 billion Calgary-to-Edmonton high-speed passenger rail line, a $2.1 billion US South Bow Prairie Connector pipeline expansion, and a $14.5 billion data centre near Medicine Hat, Alberta. The pitch aims to diversify Canada's trade and energy export markets amid escalating U.S.-Canada trade tensions while highlighting assets ranging from fully permitted, shovel-ready initiatives to preliminary-stage critical mineral developments.
Read Original -
Canada, Ukraine forge 100-year pact built on drones and defence
Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-09-10 18:15:05.0
Tags: [National, Alberta, Defence, Technology, Industry, Energy]Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a 100-year strategic and political partnership in Calgary, Alberta, focusing on defence production, trade, energy, and critical minerals. Ottawa plans to establish a drone marketplace to produce millions of drones within two years by pairing Canadian firms with Ukraine's battle-tested industry, while expanding cooperation on counter-drone technology, munitions, and artificial intelligence. Additionally, Canada pledged over $430 million in loan guarantees for gas purchases to support Ukraine Energy Security Fund infrastructure repairs, alongside a $350 million air defence package.
Read Original -
Ottawa lays out plan for AI data centres as community backlash grows
Source: Global News Politics
Date: 2026-09-03 19:59:23.0
Tags: [National, Ontario, Technology, Infrastructure, Energy, Environment]AI Minister Evan Solomon unveiled a federal five-point national framework in Markham, Ontario, introducing voluntary principles for the construction of large-scale artificial intelligence data centres to address community concerns regarding electricity, water use, and noise. The framework is endorsed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and signatories including Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Bell Canada, and TELUS, though the federal government acknowledged it lacks the jurisdiction to enforce the standards, leaving enforcement to provinces and municipalities. A study by York University researchers Lyndsey Rolheiser and Alexander Carlo noted that while only four active AI-specific data centres operate in Canada, 49 additional facilities are announced or under construction.
Read Original -
Want to build a data centre in Canada? These are the federal government's new expectations
Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-09-03 15:30:00.0
Tags: [National, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Technology, Energy, Infrastructure]The federal government announced a new framework outlining five core expectations for responsible AI data centre development, responding to public pushback over electricity and water consumption. Signatories to the framework include major corporations such as Amazon Web Services, Anthropic, Bell Canada, Cohere, eStruxture, Hypertec, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Telus. The policy follows major regional developments, including Meta's planned $13-billion AI data centre and $4.6-billion natural gas-fired power plant in Alberta, a contested Telus project in Vancouver, and provincial initiatives like Ontario's Data Centre Playbook and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew's cancellation of a facility south of Winnipeg.
Read Original
