Canadian Firms Advance Sovereign, Energy-Efficient Data Centres amid AI Demand

Canadian companies like ThinkOn are striving to establish a stronger domestic presence in the data centre market, which is currently dominated by American tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. ThinkOn is unique in meeting the Canadian federal government's security standards for hosting federal data, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign-owned servers vulnerable to U.S. laws like the CLOUD Act. Meanwhile, Rackspace Technology has received Science Based Targets Initiative approval for ambitious net-zero emissions goals, highlighting the growing emphasis on sustainability in data centre operations. The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged major tech firms to fully power data centres with renewable energy by 2030, noting the immense energy consumption of AI data centres and the urgency of transitioning to clean energy. Industry experts emphasize that meeting these energy challenges requires bold, collaborative action across sectors to integrate sustainable and reliable power into the digital infrastructure, ensuring the future resilience of AI and cloud technologies. This collective effort is critical as data centres' global energy demand is projected to soar, necessitating innovative solutions in energy use, cooling, and financing to support sustainable growth.