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Oct. 30, 2026

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Edmonton to study data-centre regulation and restriction

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Edmonton city council will receive a report in the spring about ways it could regulate and restrict data centres. Coun. Ashley Salvador introduced the motion asking for the report, saying the rapid expansion of large-scale data centres has raised serious concerns about energy demand, pollution, and alignment with climate community goals. "This represents a new and evolving land use unlike previous ones we've seen, at a scale and intensity that our zoning, infrastructure, and regulatory regimes had not contemplated and were not necessarily designed to regulate," Salvador said.

Coun. Karen Principe added a bullet to the motion through a friendly amendment asking that the report also include information on how large-scale data centres align with the Industrial Investment Action Plan, which aims to increase the city's non-residential tax revenue through industrial business development. Coun. Thu Parmar attempted to amend the motion to delete the term "regulating and restricting," saying she is concerned that restricting them could impact the city's non-residential tax base, but that amendment failed. The motion also calls for administration to keep council informed on proposed and approved projects in Edmonton and the region, and to advise council as soon as possible of proposals that could impact Edmonton, including opportunities for the city's participation in regulatory processes. The city has received one such application for a site in the Edmonton Energy and Technology Park. A feedback page for amendments to the EETP's area structure plan to facilitate the development of a large data centre campus collected more than 1,400 comments, nearly all opposed.

Salvador said that municipalities make up only one piece of the regulatory environment that governs data centres, yet they bear much of the brunt when one is built in or near a community. Provincial regulatory bodies decide on issues such as water, power, and gas supply, while a municipality decides on land use, development permits, roads, and the standards for noise and light. Several municipalities across Canada, including Calgary, Rocky View County, and Mountain View County, have proposed or enacted temporary restrictions on data centre applications. A moratorium on any one type of development is usually not permitted under the Municipal Government Act, staff told council, and if the Alberta Utilities Commission determines a power generation facility for a data centre is appropriately located, the municipality must also approve it. Travis Pawlyk, the city's branch manager of development services, said large-scale data centres are already allowed in Edmonton's zoning bylaw in the heavy industrial zone because their impacts on the surrounding properties are similar to existing heavy industrial uses, such as refineries and chemical plants.

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Economic development

Data centres

  • The Alberta Utilities Commission has approved a 920-megawatt natural-gas power plant intended to supply a data centre in Sturgeon County. Heartland Power Generation LP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Beacon Group Holdings, will build and operate the plant, with construction expected to begin this quarter and finish in late 2027. The approval covers only the power plant; the data centre requires municipal approval. This project is separate from Meta's hyperscale data centre and its power plant, which are also in Sturgeon County.
  • The Boreal Technology Hub data centre in Parkland County is sparking community concern in the Edmonton region. The proponents — Brookfield, CPP Investments, and TransAlta — held an open house on Oct. 7 to discuss the project. It is located just south of TransAlta's Keephills generating station with an initial power allocation of 230 megawatts. "People are really wanting to make sure that all the due diligence is being done," Parkland County Coun. Kristine Olson told Postmedia's Chris Varcoe. "People are wary. They really want to feel like they have a full understanding … I'm going to continue to listen and learn, and ask questions."
  • Alberta could lack about 5,200 construction and skilled trades workers for data centres, the Information and Communications Technology Council projected. That scenario assumes the province builds 80% of its planned data centre capacity over 10 years.
  • The provincial government is planning to introduce legislation providing "stronger protections for data centre development" in the fall session. Details were scarce at the news conference, but House Leader Joseph Schow suggested the province intended to continue attracting data centre development.

Startups and SMBs

Infill directive

  • Alberta's directive to roll back Edmonton's zoning reforms would hinder housing construction, the Globe and Mail's editorial board argued in an opinion piece. The board said the province had bypassed local democracy and overlooked infill's potential to reduce servicing costs by using existing infrastructure. "Boldness doesn't pay," the team wrote. "That's the message to Edmonton from Alberta's government, which is forcing the city to reimpose rules that will make it harder to build housing."
  • The City of Edmonton plans to release draft infill zoning amendments in mid-November to meet a provincial deadline of Jan. 22. Administration said time constraints would limit public engagement on the provincially mandated changes.
  • For decisions under current small-scale residential zoning, Situate advised developers to submit complete Edmonton development permit applications by Nov. 8. Projects using city-standardized designs have until Dec. 2; decision timing depends on application volumes. Synergy Capital manager Akith Dissanayake said at least 15 clients risked losses on permitting investments following the province's zoning rollback.
  • Edmonton's infill debate should focus on housing inequality rather than parking, Andrea DeKeseredy argued in a Globe and Mail opinion piece. The University of Alberta sociology PhD candidate called for non-market housing, tenant protections, and pathways to home ownership alongside increased supply. "In Canada, rental-purpose building is now dominating construction across major cities, while construction for the purpose of home ownership is weakening," she wrote. "At the same time, investors are purchasing homes originally built for owner-occupancy to rent them or use them as investment."
  • University of Alberta planning professor Sandeep Agrawal said restoring on-site parking requirements could make some Edmonton infill projects unfeasible.

Real estate and construction

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