Plans are underway at the federal level to establish a data centre in the Ottawa area that would serve the country's signals intelligence agency, with documentation indicating the facility is intended to address longer-range priorities spanning government operations, security infrastructure, and technology needs.
An advance procurement notice published by Defence Construction Canada last week notified potential design-builders of a forthcoming contract tied to a facility in the Ottawa region. Projected costs for the facility range from $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion, with a tender process anticipated to begin in 2027.
A government notice described plans to design and build a data centre within the national capital region to bolster capacity in support of mid- to long-term goals tied to operations, security, and technology modernisation. The 60-megawatt installation is intended to accommodate next-generation capabilities through mechanical and electrical configurations tailored to the distinct technology requirements of the facility.
The Communications Security Establishment indicated in a statement that the proposed centre would deliver additional secure computing capacity for its present and future operational needs, noting the project forms part of broader defence investment aimed at modernising secure infrastructure and capabilities in response to evolving threats and in support of national security and defence priorities. Site selection and planning work was described as continuing.
Further details are expected to be released on a rolling basis as choices take shape and disclosure becomes appropriate. Citing the protection of national security and the integrity of its operations, CSE stated that details about its operational and technical requirements are not made available beyond what already appears in public records.
That position was issued alongside the federal government's September release of Canada's Responsible Data Centre Development Principles, a framework addressing how the country expands its data centre capacity. Five distinct expectations for data centre projects are laid out in the principles, the government has stated.
Plans for a data centre tied to CSE, as outlined in the notice, would set aside space for a modest office area alongside a shipping and receiving function. The document also notes that authorisation from the federal government to move forward with the proposed data centre has not been granted at this stage.
A motion put before Ottawa city council that August directed municipal staff to build out a framework for evaluating incoming data centre proposals. Evaluation criteria for each data centre will span its footprint and broader effects — covering environmental and industrial benchmarks, any benefits flowing to nearby communities, and potential revisions to the official plan.
Presenting figures to council in June, Hydro Ottawa chief executive Bryce Conrad outlined how the utility had received 34 applications over the prior two years from what it categorises as large-load customers — a group whose combined electricity requirements would represent roughly 90 per cent of Ottawa's average total power draw in 2025. The applicants included government bodies, national defence operations, hospitals, university campuses, and data centres; data centres alone accounted for 653 of the 1,075 megawatts being requested.
Conrad noted that public discussion around data centres, artificial intelligence technologies, and their power demands had grown considerably over that period. In a separate interview aired in August, Conrad said Hydro Ottawa was actively working to expand its grid infrastructure to meet that demand, characterising the volume of construction being requested within the next two to three years as comparable in scale to everything the utility had built across its entire 110-year existence.
