The deadline for Canada's sovereign AI data centre proposals closed on Saturday. For the past month, the federal government accepted pitches for projects over 100 megawatts, Canadian-controlled, designed to reduce dependence on foreign compute. Brookfield estimates hyperscale data centres cost $10 million per megawatt to build, with compute infrastructure adding another $30 million per megawatt. Selected proponents will enter MOUs with the government, though no funding has been allocated yet. This episode examines what happens next and whether the gap between policy and physical infrastructure can finally close.

Sources:

https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en/enabling-large-scale-sovereign-ai-data-centres

https://betakit.com/feds-call-for-proposals-to-build-large-scale-data-centres-in-canada/

https://www.torys.com/our-latest-thinking/publications/2026/01/canada-promotes-investment-in-sovereign-large-scale-ai-data-centres

https://www.dlapiper.com/en/insights/publications/2026/02/government-of-canada-launches-call-for-proposals-for-large-scale-sovereign-ai-data-centres

https://datacenternews.ca/story/feds-seek-applications-for-sovereign-data-centres-over-100mw

https://www.brookfield.com/views-news/insights/infrastructure-outlook-accelerating-growth

https://www.ieso.ca/Corporate-IESO/Media/News-Releases/2024/10/Electricity-Demand-in-Ontario-to-Grow-by-75-per-cent-by-2050

https://betakit.com/microsoft-to-spend-7-5-billion-on-ai-data-centre-expansion-with-pledge-to-protect-canadas-digital-sovereignty/

https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en/canadian-sovereign-ai-compute-strategy

Tags

AI North Brief, Canadian AI, AI Policy, Sovereign Compute, Data Centres, AI Infrastructure, ISED, Evan Solomon, Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy, Budget 2025, Brookfield, Microsoft