Large electrical loads in Ontario now turn on community consent as much as grid capacity.
Gridfirst reads the councils, writes the terms, and gets files to a yes.
Ontario data-centre approvals, as of October 30, 2026
| Jurisdiction | What council did | When |
|---|---|---|
| Oakville | Interim Control By-law 2026-129: one-year pause on data centres; no applications were on file. Planning study ordered (noise, vibration, emissions, compatibility, energy supply, water, utilities). | Aug 11, 2026 |
| Mississauga | Interim control by-law: one-year pause on facilities of 10 MW and over, extendable to two; one application on file (Tenth Line West). Interim staff report to council in fall 2026 on study scope and consultation. | Sept 16, 2026 |
| Sault Ste. Marie | Approvals of large data centres frozen until a municipal framework is in place, expected early 2027; a 400 MW proposal in early planning. | Sept 2026 |
| Hamilton | Committee of Adjustment refused a conforming 76-hectare severance for the Steelport data-centre campus after staff recommended approval; 1,600-plus letters. Council advanced a pause June 24, then defeated it July 15. Applicant’s appeal before the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT-26-000693). | June 4, 2026 |
| Toronto | Staff directed to develop a Toronto approach to AI data centres (item MM39.47). On July 30, 2026 council adopted MM43.75, 25–0: all AI data-centre approvals aligned to that review, the local councillor notified of every application, a staff report to Planning and Housing in the first half of 2027, and a noise peer review ordered on the 3650 Danforth Avenue site-plan file. | July 30, 2026 |
| Ottawa | Staff directed to develop an assessment framework and possible policy amendments; council to be told of large-scale proposals so it can consider case-by-case moratoria. | Aug 2026 |
| Milton | A proposed one-year pause was defeated; council directed staff to study data centres instead. | Sept 14, 2026 |
| Burlington | A temporary moratorium was defeated; staff directed to review the town’s data-centre rules. | July 2026 |
| Waterloo Region | Staff directed to report to council in early 2027 on the implications of data-centre development. | Aug 2026 |
The board in figures
9
44%
8,041 MW
Sources: the board; Statistics Canada, “Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population”; IESO, “Connection Assessment application status list”, data-centre and large-load entries compiled by Gridfirst Advisory, October 2026.
2021 populations: Toronto 2,794,356; Ottawa 1,017,449; Mississauga 717,961; Hamilton 569,353; Waterloo Region 587,165; Oakville 213,759; Burlington 186,948; Milton 132,979; Sault Ste. Marie 72,051; total 6,292,021; Ontario 14,223,942.
Services
- Site screen
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One property, five pages, one week: the municipal record, moratorium risk, the terms a data-centre buyer must accept, the cost of a yes by tier, and the path to council-ready, written for the offering memorandum.
Fixed fee, quoted in writing.
- Readiness review
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A filed or imminent application read clause by clause against The Approvable Data Centre: met, open, contradicted on the record; the cost of a yes by tier; the sequence to council-ready. Three to four weeks.
Fixed fee, quoted in writing.
- Terms design
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For a proponent that has committed to a tier: the host community agreement, the verification and reporting plan, and the design of the residents’ process.
Fixed fee, quoted in writing.
- Briefing
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Ninety minutes for a site team or investment committee on what Ontario councils will accept and what it costs.
Fixed fee, quoted in writing.
Research
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Executive brief ·
After the backlash
Fifteen cases where an industry met a backlash, their precursors and acceptance steps.
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Industry brief ·
How a data centre gets a yes
The architecture of The Approvable Data Centre: law, contract, label.
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Record and method, v2 ·
What the room asked for
The Hamilton and Mississauga record coded by subject.
The Approvable Data Centre
The Approvable Data Centre is a standard for data-centre proposals, built on four tests: a number, a public meter, an independent verifier and a guarantee. The Community’s Terms, written from the Hamilton and Mississauga record, sit inside it. Version 0.5 is out for comment; 1.0 is expected in November 2026.
The Approvals Column
The Approvals Column is a monthly read of what every Ontario council is requiring of data centres, what residents have asked for on the record, and what it costs to get a yes. The first edition goes out in November 2026. It is free to anyone who asks.
Independence
Fixed fees, quoted in writing before work starts. No success fees. No interest in any site, land, buyer or approval.