Hamilton data centre pause survives first council vote, exemption rejected

Hamilton city hall is seen in this file photo. (CTV News Toronto)

A proposed citywide moratorium on data centres in Hamilton survived its first test before city council on Wednesday, as local legislators rejected a bid to exempt smaller facilities. 

Council voted 15-1 to advance the proposed moratorium, with a final vote expected at next month’s council meeting. 

The moratorium is framed as a chance for the city to develop guardrails around data centres powering the artificial intelligence boom. 

The moratorium’s sponsor, Coun. Nrinder Nann, said the plan would help ensure future data centre decisions prioritize public health, transparency and community-defined benefits over rapid industrial expansion.

“There is a deep democratic value in this pause. Ultimately, it enables good governance to prevail, and it signals how to do business well in our city. We need good rules first,” she said.

Hamilton has become a focal point in the public backlash to the data centre buildout in Canada. A proposed campus at a former steelmaking site along Hamilton’s industrial harbourfront has sparked fierce pushback from residents and helped to inspire the moratorium proposal. 

Hundreds of residents who backed the proposal say they worry data centres could strain energy grids and drive up energy bills. Others worry possible heat, noise and water pollution will be felt by neighbourhoods already bearing the brunt of the city’s industrial burden. Many see data centres as a proxy for broader critiques of AI. 

If it passes, Hamilton would be the first in Canada to join a wave of U.S. cities who have introduced similar measures. The freeze on data centres would last for up to a year with the potential for council to renew it for another year after that. 

The lone no at Thursday’s meeting came from Coun. Brad Clark, who backed a failed effort to exempt smaller data centres established to support research. 

Clark’s motion, defeated 14-2, was drafted by McMaster Innovation Park and its partner s2e Technologies, who want to build a data centre at the former Hamilton Spectator building on Frid Street.

Clark said a moratorium would send the wrong message to businesses interested in investing in Hamilton and may kill the McMaster proposal.

Nann rejected that characterization.

“We’re not killing anything. We’re defining how business is done in our city,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026.

Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press