Ontario

Ontario is setting the terms on which data centres may join its grid. Its draft Data Centre Playbook, out for a 30-day consultation from 13 August 2026, would charge sites above 1 MW the full cost of their power and grid upgrades and offer them only non-financial support. Officials propose a separate rate class for data centres, priced above other industrial customers, so household bills do not carry the cost. Ontario's government says the final playbook will follow this autumn alongside its AI Industrial Strategy. It rests on the Protect Ontario by Securing Affordable Energy for Generations Act, which gave the government the final say on which large-load projects connect.

Ontario is Canada's most populous province, with about 16.1 million people in April 2026, and its capital is Toronto. Nuclear produced about 48.2% of its electricity in 2025, according to the grid operator, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).

The IESO forecasts provincial demand to grow 65% by 2050. In its reference scenario Ontario data centres take 8.6% of that demand, a share about three-fifths above its previous forecast. Ontario's no-subsidy line is the opposite of Gujarat's, which in August notified a subsidised policy aimed at 7.5 GW of data-centre capacity. Neighbouring Quebec is also writing a separate data-centre tariff.