Following a 90-minute debate on Monday night, city councillors in Sault Ste. Marie rejected a proposal to pause new data center initiatives in the northern Ontario city. The discussion centered around contentious artificial intelligence facilities weeks after a local petition raised concerns about a cybersecurity monitoring and training center, including a data center, approved for the west end by city council in December 2025. Spearheaded by cybersecurity firm Protexxa and Missanabie Cree First Nation, the project aims to utilize AI to detect and resolve cyber issues for various organizations and governments.
During the council meeting, Ward 3 Coun. Angela Caputo suggested an interim control bylaw, or moratorium, to halt any new data center proposals in Sault Ste. Marie until additional policies and protocols were established. Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and several councillors expressed reservations about certain aspects of Caputo’s proposal, prompting her to retract the motion.
Instead, it is anticipated that councillors will introduce a fresh motion at the next meeting on August 31, tasking city staff to craft a specific municipal framework for data centers in the city. The plan would also involve opportunities for public input. The decision on this motion is unlikely to affect the approved Protexxa data center project on Yates Avenue in the city-owned industrial park, pending the property sale completion.
Shoemaker cautioned against categorizing all data centers similarly during the Monday debate. City staff highlighted “hyperscale” facilities in North America that consume over 100 megawatts of power, necessitating significant water and electricity usage and generating noise pollution. In contrast, Protexxa’s plans in Sault would require only five megawatts of power.
Peter Tonazzo, the city’s planning director, noted existing office and institutional uses benefiting from server rooms comparable in size or smaller than Protexxa’s proposal. City CAO Tom Vair emphasized that all data center proposals, regardless of size, must undergo council scrutiny for rezoning to ensure suitability.
Shoemaker underlined that implementing a moratorium on future data center proposals seemed unnecessary as the city already has processes in place to reject impractical applications. He stressed the thorough review and consideration that went into the decision-making process for the Protexxa project, including infrastructure capacity assessment and environmental considerations.
Overall, the city is looking to enhance existing protocols rather than challenge prior decisions, focusing on improving procedures for future developments.