Nova Scotia premier defends change of his stance on data centre proposals

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston is defending his decision to change his stance on when data centres might be considered for approval to operate in the province.

In June, the premier said it was too soon to turn his government’s attention to the matter, and that it would not be discussed until far into the future.

A few months later, he softened that stance, opening a door to consider proposals from the sector.

“A lot has happened … in the world, geopolitics, all kinds of situations there,” Houston told reporters Thursday. 

“When you look at some of the positioning of the federal government around data sovereignty, around the regulations that would be required, (they) definitely were thoughtful and had an impact on me.”

The premier had previously said discussions about data centres would have to wait until the province had completed major energy generation projects, including the ambitious Wind West offshore wind farms.

“We’re going to generate significant amounts of energy … (and) at that point in time, that would be a more appropriate discussion,” he said on June 18.

At the time, the premier said the discussion about data centres “is so far out in the future … but there wouldn’t be a commitment to a data centre unless we could fully supply the energy without any risk to Nova Scotians.”

Late last month, however, Houston said data centres are becoming increasingly critical pieces of infrastructure, adding that Canada can’t rely on other countries to store its data. He said he became more open to considering data centre proposals after Ottawa rolled out its new rules.

“I think the sentiment of that (June) statement was that we wouldn’t allow an impact on ratepayers,” Houston said Thursday. “We’re not going to drive up the rates to let another user, any type of industrial use, have their power while households and Nova Scotians pay more. That sentiment remains.” 

Data centres, used in AI and other high-tech industries, are typically massive operations that require immense amounts of electricity to run and cool off computer servers.

EverWind Fuels, the company planning a large-scale green hydrogen project in Cape Breton to be powered by onshore wind, says it’s exploring setting up a data centre at an existing industrial site at Point Tupper, N.S.

The proposed data centre “would form part of the broader Point Tupper Energy Hub and complement EverWind’s clean energy projects across Nova Scotia,” company spokesperson Claire Parsons said in an email Thursday. 

Parsons declined to say if the proposed data centre would be used for artificial intelligence.

Official Opposition Leader Claudia Chender called Houston’s changed stance on data centres a “stunning reversal.” 

“When the premier said not long ago that we were not considering AI data centres, not today, not tomorrow … people took him at his word as they watched these debates play out in other places,” Chender, the NDP leader, told reporters Thursday. 

Last month, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew rejected plans for a massive AI data centre southeast of Winnipeg. Kinew said the project’s size, energy use and community impact outweighed its limited gains. He said he was also skeptical of the long-term demand for centres of this scale given advances in computing.

Meanwhile, Bell Canada intends to quadruple the size of its planned data centre project in Saskatchewan, with Prime Minister Mark Carney saying last month the project is expected to bring in more than $50 billion in capital investment.

Alberta has also embraced data centre development. Electricity generator TransAlta Corp. announced plans in February to power a new data centre west of Edmonton. This came after the provincial technology minister said in 2024 that province was hoping to see $100 billion worth of artificial intelligence data centres under construction over five years.

Environmental advocates have raised concerns about the massive volume of energy and water used by data centres. They’ve also warned about the potential for chemical pollution.

A recent United Nations University report says the environmental footprint of data centres globally already rivals some of the world’s largest countries. The report also predicts their water and energy use and pollution will double in just four years as use of artificial intelligence grows.

Chender and interim Liberal leader Iain Rankin both said Thursday they have serious concerns about the potential environmental impacts and water use tied to a data centre.

Houston said Thursday a data centre in Nova Scotia would have to go through an approval process that could exceed federal requirements. This means the process would need to consider the impact on the environment and ratepayers.

Both opposition leaders said these protections should be built into legislation. 

“It’s one thing to say that water and environmental concerns and ratepayers will be protected, but it’s not a fact that the premier’s word is stronger than regulations or legislation,” Rankin said. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2026.