Following a 90-minute debate on Monday evening, Sault Ste. Marie city councillors rejected a proposal to stop new data center projects in the northern Ontario city. The discussion revolved around controversial artificial intelligence facilities, sparked by a local petition opposing a cybersecurity monitoring and training center, including a data center, approved by the city council in December 2025 for the west end.
The initiative, a collaboration between cybersecurity company Protexxa and Missanabie Cree First Nation, aims to utilize AI to address cyber issues for various organizations and governments. During the council meeting, Ward 3 Coun. Angela Caputo suggested an interim control bylaw to pause any new data center proposals until additional policies and protocols were in place, emphasizing community-informed decision-making.
However, Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and several councillors expressed reservations about certain aspects of Caputo’s proposal, leading to its withdrawal. Instead, a new motion is anticipated to be introduced at the upcoming meeting on August 31, tasking city staff with formulating a specific municipal framework for data centers in Sault Ste. Marie, including provisions for public input.
The impending vote is unlikely to impact the already approved Protexxa data center project on Yates Avenue in the city-owned industrial park, pending the completion of the property sale. Shoemaker highlighted the existing mechanisms to prevent large-scale data centers, cautioning against conflating all data center proposals. While city staff cited energy-intensive “hyperscale” facilities prevalent in North America, Protexxa assured a modest energy consumption of five megawatts, well within the city’s power capacity.
City planning director Peter Tonazzo underscored the compatibility of Protexxa’s plans with existing server room sizes in the city, emphasizing the necessity for rezoning approval for any data center proposal. City CAO Tom Vair reiterated the need for council oversight to ensure appropriate land use.
Shoemaker defended the decision-making process behind the Protexxa project, highlighting the thorough review, infrastructure assessment, and environmental considerations undertaken before approval. He advocated for process enhancements while asserting that established procedures could address unsuitable applications effectively.