Canada’s data centre ambitions face a public confidence challenge, with new polling showing most Canadians want their provinces to limit large-scale development.
An Angus Reid Institute survey released today finds 64% favour limiting large data centres, while 18% want governments to encourage more. Support for limits reaches 70% in Saskatchewan and 64% in Alberta.
Resource demands are central to that caution. Among respondents favouring limits, 51% cite high water use, 38% identify higher electricity costs for households and businesses, and 34% worry benefits would flow primarily to large technology companies rather than local communities.
Those supporting development emphasize economic opportunities: 47% cite investment and growth, 33% point to Canadian competitiveness in AI and emerging technologies, and 30% identify job creation.
The findings add a public-opinion dimension to concerns already emerging across Canada’s infrastructure sector.
As DataCentre.ca recently reported, Orennia has warned that transmission constraints threaten the viability of proposed projects, pushing developers toward onsite generation and more flexible power arrangements.
A separate RSM Canada analysis covered by DataCentre.ca questioned how much lasting economic value Canadians will capture, highlighting foreign ownership and concentrated pressures on host communities.
For developers, the poll suggests community engagement will need to address electricity bills, water use and local benefits alongside investment announcements.
The online survey included 4,417 Canadian adults and was conducted September 8–16, 2026, with results weighted to reflect the national adult population.