August 27, 2026
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Kincardine has made several recommendations to provide stronger protections in Ontario's Data Centre Playbook.
This was in response to the province seeking input on how to responsibly support growth in this emerging sector, as an increasing number of prospective data centres consider Ontario for future development.
At the council meeting Wednesday night (Aug. 26), Kincardine discussed potential changes to the playbook to help ensure municipalities and communities can manage the potential impacts while maximizing the opportunities associated with large-scale data centre development.
The intent of the discussion was not to establish a municipal position in support of, or in opposition to, data centre development within the municipality, but to provide recommendations to the province that may strengthen the final framework for evaluating and managing this form of development.
Key recommendations included:
Requiring formal municipal support
Provincial grid connection approval for a data centre should recognize the municipality’s role in land-use planning, infrastructure capacity, servicing and assessing local community impacts.
Protecting local water resources
Large facilities should be required to demonstrate the use of water-efficient cooling technologies, including closed-loop systems to reduce reliance on municipal drinking water systems and protect local water resources.
Increasing transparency
Proponents should provide greater information about ownership, operations, data governance and the nature of data being processed, subject to applicable privacy, security and commercial confidentiality requirements.
Addressing back-up power generation
Clear standards should be established for behind-the-meter diesel and natural gas generation, including emissions management, reporting and operating limits, while considering lower-emission alternatives such as battery storage.
Establishing noise standards
The framework should include enforceable standards for continuous and low-frequency noise, along with appropriate setbacks, monitoring and operator-funded compliance reporting.
Focusing on long-term local employment
Economic benefits should be measured through permanent employment, local workforce participation, training and apprenticeships, not solely short-term construction jobs.
Strengthening economic development requirements
Proponents should demonstrate measurable economic benefits for Ontario workers, businesses and host communities, including opportunities to support access to computing capacity for Ontario businesses where applicable.
Addressing electronic waste and decommissioning
The playbook should provide guidance on equipment replacement, recycling, responsible disposal and circular economy opportunities, including detailed decommissioning plans.
Ensuring municipalities recover their costs
Proponents should demonstrate that municipalities will not be left with unrecovered costs related to roads, water and wastewater infrastructure, emergency services, planning and building services, utility upgrades or other growth-related impacts.
Requiring community benefit plans
Proponents should identify measurable commitments to host communities, including local hiring, training, infrastructure contributions, partnerships and community investment, with public reporting on outcomes.
Developing community benefit benchmarks
Provincial benchmarks based on factors, such as facility size, electrical demand, capital investment, land area and municipal servicing impacts, would provide municipalities with a consistent framework for negotiating community benefits.
Making municipal input mandatory
Municipal input should be a formal part of project evaluation, with consideration given to infrastructure capacity, land-use compatibility, emergency services, water and wastewater servicing, housing, workforce availability and community priorities.
Strengthening emergency planning
Proponents should support municipalities in developing appropriate emergency management and response plans related to the operation of large-scale data centres.
Council directed staff to submit these recommendations to the province, advocating that stronger municipal involvement, cost recovery, environmental protections, community benefits, transparency, and emergency planning are needed for responsible investment while ensuring host communities share in the long-term benefits of growth.
The province is accepting feedback from the public until Sept. 12, to help shape the rules and regulations that will govern how, where and what types of data centres may be allowed.
Visit: ero.ontario.ca/notice/026-0853 to provide your input.
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