A government presentation prepared for federal Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon includes a figure suggesting Canada’s data centre capacity could rise to about 20 gigawatts (GW) through planned projects, according to reporting based on a document obtained via an access-to-information request. Multiple outlets say the presentation is intended to help pitch Canada’s AI ecosystem to international investors.
The document presents the 20 GW number as part of a broader discussion of planned data centre development. However, at least one outlet reports that government spokespeople dispute how the figure should be characterized. They say it is not a projection of the capacity Canada expects to build, but instead reflects planned or proposed activity.
The accounts describe the document as material for investor outreach, rather than a final government forecast. While the sources agree on the existence of the 20 GW figure in the presentation, they differ in emphasis between the reported scale of planned projects and the government’s clarification about the figure’s meaning.
