Why Canada?

Canada generates over 60% of its electricity from renewable sources — primarily large-scale hydroelectric. Provinces like Quebec (99%+ hydro), British Columbia (90%+ hydro), and Manitoba (97%+ hydro) have among the cleanest grids of any jurisdiction globally. Ontario runs approximately 90% non-emitting, combining nuclear and hydro.

For AI companies with net-zero commitments — and the institutional investors who back them — this is not a minor point. Powering large-scale compute from a grid that is already clean is fundamentally different from buying offsets against a fossil-heavy grid.

Several Canadian provinces offer industrial electricity rates that are among the lowest in the G7. Quebec's large industrial rate (LG tariff) has historically ranged from 4–6 ¢/kWh CAD — a rate that is difficult to match anywhere in North America. Manitoba and British Columbia offer similarly competitive pricing for large consumers.

At the scale of a hyperscale data center — consuming hundreds of megawatts continuously — a 2–3 ¢/kWh pricing advantage translates to tens of millions of dollars in annual operating cost savings. This is not marginal. It is structural.

Cooling is the hidden cost of compute. Data centers in hot climates spend significant energy — and water — keeping servers from overheating. Canada's cold climate provides extended periods of free cooling (economization) where outside air or ambient temperatures can directly cool infrastructure without mechanical refrigeration.

In northern Quebec, Ontario, or the Prairie provinces, free cooling is available for 6–9 months of the year. This materially improves Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratios — a key efficiency metric — and reduces both operating costs and water consumption compared to facilities in warmer climates.

Canada operates mature, well-regulated electricity grids managed by provincially owned or regulated utilities — Hydro-Québec, BC Hydro, Manitoba Hydro, Ontario's IESO, and others. These are not deregulated spot markets prone to price volatility or supply shocks.

Politically, Canada has a stable rule-of-law environment, consistent contract enforcement, and no meaningful expropriation risk. Long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) are available and enforceable. For infrastructure with 20–30 year depreciation cycles, jurisdictional certainty is not optional — it's foundational.

Canada holds approximately 7% of the world's renewable freshwater supply and 20% of global surface freshwater reserves. The Great Lakes alone contain 21% of the world's surface fresh water. Across Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and BC, freshwater access is abundant and managed under stable regulatory frameworks.

This matters enormously for large-scale compute. Liquid-cooled and evaporative cooling systems for high-density AI clusters require substantial water access. In many competing jurisdictions — Arizona, Texas, parts of Europe — water scarcity is an active constraint on data center siting. In Canada, it is not.

Canada has substantial available land adjacent to power sources — a critical factor for greenfield infrastructure development. Large parcels near major transmission corridors in Quebec, Ontario, and BC are accessible at land costs far below comparable US markets.

Fiber connectivity is well-developed in major corridors. Canada's proximity to US markets and interconnection with US grid operators (NYISO, MISO, PJM, WECC) means low-latency access to the largest compute-demand markets in the world — without the land and power cost premiums of US siting.