Oakville becomes first Ontario municipality to enact one-year moratorium on AI data centres

Oakville has enacted Ontario's first one-year moratorium on new AI data centres following a unanimous council vote on August 11, 2026. The pause allows staff to study infrastructure and environmental impacts, including noise and emissions. The decision comes amid plans by Hive Digital Technologies for a 320-megawatt facility in the region, and as other Ontario municipalities like Mississauga, Waterloo, and Toronto weigh similar restrictions or studies to manage rapid AI infrastructure growth.

Oakville data centre moratorium

• ▪Oakville Town Council unanimously voted on August 11, 2026, to enact a one-year moratorium on new data centres.
• ▪Oakville Town Council directed staff on August 11, 2026, to study whether town regulations need updates to address potential noise, vibration, emissions, and land-use issues from data centres.

Infrastructure impact concerns

• ▪Cooling artificial intelligence data centres requires massive amounts of clean water, according to a CBC report from October 2025.
• ▪Oakville Councillor Tom Adams stated on August 11, 2026, that Oakville needs an evidence-based understanding of how data centres affect electricity, water, wastewater, telecommunications, environmental goals, employment lands, and resident health.

Hive Digital Technologies project

• ▪Hive Digital Technologies spokesperson Nathan Fast stated in August 2026 that the company respects Oakville's right to develop a planning framework and remains committed to earning community trust.
• ▪Hive Digital Technologies announced plans in May 2026 for a 320-megawatt artificial intelligence facility in the Greater Toronto Area targeted for the second half of 2027.
• ▪Land records indicate a subsidiary of Hive Digital Technologies purchased property in Oakville days before the company announced its planned artificial intelligence facility in May 2026.

Ontario municipal responses

• ▪Toronto City Council passed a motion in July 2026 directing staff to study data centre impacts and potentially advocate for an Ontario provincial framework.
• ▪Hamilton City Council voted down a proposed moratorium on data centres, making Hamilton the first Ontario municipality to take such a vote.
• ▪The municipality of Mississauga is scheduled to vote in September 2026 on a proposed one-year pause on data centre builds.
• ▪Waterloo Region voted on August 11, 2026, to study data centre impacts and potentially advocate for an Ontario provincial framework to manage proposed developments.

Tech company AI competition

• ▪Meta announced plans in July 2026 for a one-gigawatt data centre in Alberta to be powered by a new gas plant.
• ▪Competition among OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google has increased demand for energy-hungry data centres packed with computer chips for artificial intelligence models.