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ARTICLE · 22 JANUARY 2025

Power Surge: Legal Landscape Of Data Centre Development In Canada

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Welcome to our Regulatory and Legal Landscape series, developed to provide a deeper dive into the emerging issues that matter. As always, we are here to help.

CanadaEnergy and Natural Resources
Andrew Salem
Andrew Salem
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Jake Bullen
Jeremy Barretto
Jeremy Barretto
Tera Li Parizeau
Tera Li Parizeau
Talia Rotman
Talia Rotman
Matt Hammer
Matt Hammer
Sherry Rath
Sherry Rath
Alexandra Nesterova
Alexandra Nesterova
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Welcome to our Regulatory and Legal Landscape series, developed to provide a deeper dive into the emerging issues that matter. As always, we are here to help.

There is a surge in data centre development across Canada and the United States to support the ongoing development of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies such as cloud service providers and cryptocurrency mining operations. Canadian grid operators have listed data centre expansion and growth key drivers in forecasted power use in the coming years.1 Indeed, global power demand for data centres is estimated to be the single largest driver of new electricity demand over the next five years.2 The rapid growth in data centre development presents significant energy, real estate, and corporate legal challenges that developers (and other players in the space, including land owners, operators, and investors – including Private Equity funds) should address.

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