Following a 90-minute debate on Monday evening, city officials in Sault Ste. Marie rejected a proposal to stop new data center projects in the northern Ontario city. The discussion centered around contentious artificial intelligence facilities, sparked by a local petition opposing a cybersecurity monitoring and training center with a data center component approved by the city council in December 2025. Spearheaded by cybersecurity firm Protexxa and the Missanabie Cree First Nation, the project aims to utilize AI to address cyber issues for various organizations and governments.
During the council meeting, Ward 3 Councilor Angela Caputo suggested an interim control bylaw, or a moratorium, to halt any new data center proposals until additional policies and procedures were established. Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and several council members expressed hesitancy towards some elements of Caputo’s proposal, leading her to retract the motion. It is anticipated that a new motion will be put forth during the upcoming meeting on August 31, tasking city staff with formulating a specific municipal framework for data centers in Sault Ste. Marie, inclusive of public input opportunities.
Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming vote, it is unlikely to impact the Protexxa data center project already greenlit in the city-owned industrial park on Yates Avenue, pending the completion of the property sale. Shoemaker cautioned against broadly categorizing all data centers, highlighting the distinction between typical data centers and “hyperscale” facilities prevalent across North America, which consume substantial resources and create environmental challenges.
The city’s Planning Director, Peter Tonazzo, emphasized that the Sault already accommodates similar-sized server rooms in major office and institutional settings. City Chief Administrative Officer Tom Vair underscored the need for council approval for rezoning any proposed data centers to ensure appropriateness. Shoemaker contended that implementing a moratorium on future data center proposals would be redundant as existing processes are in place to evaluate and reject impractical applications, citing the thorough review process undertaken for the Protexxa site.
