Data centres in Barrie

Are there data centres in Barrie now?

Yes. These are the facilities inside the city that an operator, a government or an industry listing places here. Sizes are given only where the operator stated them; only one, eStruxture's, states its power capacity.

The City also runs its own corporate data centres, whose locations are not published. TD's release calls its building a technology and operations centre; the Uptime Institute lists a TD "Barrie Data Centre". The current operator of the IBM facility (Kyndryl) and the IBM and BMO street addresses come only from an industry listing, which also gives BMO a larger size than BMO's own plan; both are marked.

Sources: eStruxture — TOR-5 Toronto data center (612 Welham Road, Barrie), eStruxture Data Centers. Original document. The operator's page for the Barrie facility it markets as TOR-5: colocation, "a total capacity of 10MW", free-air cooling, "served by a different power grid than the GTA". The only operator-stated power figure for any Barrie data centre. Cogeco Data Services opens new flagship data centre, Cogeco Data Services (GlobeNewswire), dated June 13, 2013. Original document. The opening of the Welham Road facility, in the RCMP's former G8/G20 security control centre. The same site is eStruxture TOR-5 today (Cogeco Peer 1, then Aptum, then eStruxture in 2021). IBM opens Canada Leadership Data Centre in Barrie, IBM Canada (release, as reprinted by Insurance-Canada.ca), dated September 21, 2012. Original document. A $90 million investment; 25,000 square feet of initial capacity with the ability to grow to 100,000. Harper Government generating savings through data centre consolidation, Government of Canada, dated October 7, 2014. Original document. Names "EDC Barrie", the federal government's backup enterprise data centre, as located in IBM's existing facility in Barrie. BMO Financial Group to build new technology facility in Barrie, BMO Financial Group, dated September 15, 2004. Original document. BMO bought City-owned land in the Mapleview West Business Park to build a data centre: about 200,000 square feet on 24 acres, as planned in 2004. TD Bank Group to open new Technology and Operations centre in Barrie, TD Bank Group, dated February 11, 2011. Original document. A planned 180,000-square-foot technology and operations centre. The release does not call it a data centre; the Uptime Institute lists a TD "Barrie Data Centre". No address published. Baxtel data-centre listings for Barrie (Kyndryl CLDC, BMO Barrie), Baxtel (industry listing, secondary). Original document. Secondary: the only source for the IBM facility's current operator (Kyndryl) and address (505 Bayview Drive), and for BMO's address (50 Reid Drive; its stated 320,000 sq ft conflicts with BMO's own 2004 plan). Copy of the BMO listing: research/extracted/dc-baxtel-bmo-barrie-2026-10-07.txt. All retrieved October 7, 2026.

Is a new data centre proposed in Barrie?

None had been found as of October 7, 2026. Barrie council's minutes from 2013 to September 2026 mention a data centre once, when the Cogeco facility opened in June 2013, and no 2026 council or committee agenda mentions one. The question arrives with a province-wide debate instead: through the summer of 2026 several Ontario councils voted on pausing data-centre development, and on August 13 the province published its Data Centre Playbook for assessing new proposals.

What do Barrie's rules already allow?

Barrie's comprehensive zoning by-law defines a Data Processing Centre as "a building used for the input, processing and printing of computerized data", and permits it in the C1 to C4 commercial zones and the Business Park, Light, Highway and General Industrial zones. The definition dates from 2009. Whether a modern AI or hyperscale facility is a "data processing centre" in that sense is a question of planning interpretation, and the City has not published an answer.

Source: Comprehensive Zoning By-law 2009-141 (consolidated to July 31, 2026), City of Barrie. Original document. Defines "Data Processing Centre" as "a building used for the input, processing and printing of computerized data" and permits it in the C1-C4 commercial zones (Table 6.2) and the BP, LI, HI and GI industrial zones (Table 7.2). The PDF downloads; barrie.ca HTML pages refuse automated reads. Retrieved October 7, 2026.

Who decides whether a data centre gets power?

The province. Since December 11, 2025, the Electricity Act has barred a transmitter or local distributor from connecting a "specified load facility", which includes a data centre meeting criteria to be set by regulation, until the connection requirements and approvals the regulations specify are met. The size at which a data centre falls under that rule had not been set as of October 7, 2026.

For scale, the province says data-centre connection proposals across Ontario could total more than 10,000 MW, against a recent provincial peak demand of about 25,000 MW, and the IESO now expects data centres to make up 8.6 per cent of Ontario's electricity demand by 2050.

Sources: Electricity Act, 1998, s. 28.1 (exceptions for specified load facilities), Province of Ontario (e-Laws). Original document. Added by Bill 40 (S.O. 2025, c. 22), in force December 11, 2025: a transmitter or distributor may not connect a "specified load facility", which includes a data centre meeting criteria set by regulation, unless the specified connection requirements and approvals are met. No regulation setting the threshold had been found as of October 7, 2026. ERO 025-1001: proposed regulation on connecting large data centres (Bill 40), Ministry of Energy and Mines (Environmental Registry of Ontario), dated September 5, 2025. Original document. The 2025 consultation (September 5 to November 4, 2025) that floated "greater than 50 megawatts" as the size at which a data centre would need provincial approval to connect. ERO 026-0853: Ontario's Data Centre Playbook and a proposed data-centre rate class, Ministry of Energy and Mines (Environmental Registry of Ontario), dated August 13, 2026. Original document. Proposes a separate electricity rate class for new data centres above 1 MW; estimates connection proposals "could total more than 10,000 MW" against a recent peak demand of about 25,000 MW; says the province "is considering drafting a proposed regulation". Comment period closed September 12, 2026. Enabling large-scale sovereign AI data centres, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Original document. The federal call (January 15 to February 15, 2026) for sovereign AI data centres "greater than 100 megawatts" under non-binding memorandums of understanding. No Ontario or Barrie site had been announced as of October 7, 2026. 2026 Annual Planning Outlook: summary, Independent Electricity System Operator. Original document. Ontario demand grows 65% to 2050, with data centres at 8.6 per cent of demand in 2050, about 60 per cent more than previously forecast. All retrieved October 7, 2026.

Does Barrie have the power to spare?

Barrie's power arrives through Hydro One transformer stations and is delivered locally by Alectra (InnPower in part of the south end). The regional planners' 2025 needs assessment forecasts the summer load on Barrie TS's main transformers passing their rating early in the next decade, before any new data centre:

Under the planners' high-growth scenario the rating is passed in 2028. The plan's answer is a new InnPower station connected at Barrie TS, given an in-service year of 2029 in the August 2025 needs assessment and 2027 in the November 2025 scoping report. Neither document mentions data centres. For comparison only: the one Barrie data centre that states its capacity, eStruxture's, gives 10 MW.

Sources: South Georgian Bay/Muskoka Region: Needs Assessment, Hydro One Networks (lead transmitter) with the IESO and local distributors, dated August 27, 2025. Original document. Barrie TS transformers T3/T4: a 170 MW summer rating; the normal-growth summer forecast rises from 87 MW (2024) to 210 MW (2034), exceeding the rating in 2031 (2028 under high growth). Plans a new InnPower station off Barrie TS, in service 2029 in this report. The report does not mention data centres. South Georgian Bay/Muskoka: Scoping Assessment Outcome Report, Independent Electricity System Operator, dated November 25, 2025. Original document. Launches a full regional plan (IRRP) for the area, Alectra and InnPower among the working group; gives the new InnPower station at Barrie TS a planned in-service year of 2027, two years earlier than the August needs assessment. Alectra Utilities: corporate overview, Alectra Utilities. Original document. Alectra is the local electricity distributor serving Barrie (InnPower serves Innisfil and part of south Barrie). All retrieved October 7, 2026.

What about water and Lake Simcoe?

Barrie draws its water from Kempenfelt Bay, through a surface water treatment plant, and from 12 wells. The source-protection assessment gives the plant a first-phase design capacity of 60 million litres a day when it opened in 2011, with room to treat up to 240; the City's 2025 drinking-water report states no capacity. No water-use figure for any Barrie data centre has been published; eStruxture lists "free air cooling" at TOR-5. The province's Playbook says it will prioritize closed-loop systems "that use virtually no water during operation".

Sources: Drinking Water System Annual Report 2025, City of Barrie. Original document. The system: the surface water treatment plant on Kempenfelt Bay plus 12 wells, serving about 167,176 residents. States no plant capacity. Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching-Black River Source Protection Area Assessment Report, Chapter 8: City of Barrie, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (source protection committee). Original document. The surface water treatment plant on Kempenfelt Bay opened in August 2011 with a Phase I design capacity of 60 ML/day and the ability to treat up to 240 ML/day. An older planning document; no current rated capacity was found. eStruxture — TOR-5 Toronto data center (612 Welham Road, Barrie), eStruxture Data Centers. Original document. The operator's page for the Barrie facility it markets as TOR-5: colocation, "a total capacity of 10MW", free-air cooling, "served by a different power grid than the GTA". The only operator-stated power figure for any Barrie data centre. Ontario releases Data Centre Playbook, Province of Ontario (Ontario Newsroom), dated August 13, 2026. Original document. The three pillars for assessing proposals (economic development; data security and digital sovereignty; community benefit and public trust) and a stated preference for closed-loop cooling "that use virtually no water during operation". All retrieved October 7, 2026.

Can council pause data centres?

A municipal "moratorium" is, in law, an interim control by-law under section 38 of the Planning Act. Council must first direct a study of its land-use policies; the by-law can then prohibit a use for up to one year, extendable to two in total. No notice or hearing is needed beforehand, but the clerk must give notice within 20 days of passing it, and those given notice can appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal within 50 days. It pauses zoning permissions; it does not decide grid connections, which stay with the province.

Other Ontario councils, 2026:

• Oakville passed Interim Control By-law 2026-129 on August 11, in effect to August 11, 2027, while staff study data centres; officials said it had no formal data-centre applications.
• Mississauga council directed staff in July to prepare one.
• Hamilton's one-year freeze cleared committee but was voted down by council in July; a planning study continues.
• Milton and Burlington voted moratoriums down but ordered studies; Sault Ste. Marie staff drafted one for facilities over 50 MW; Greater Napanee made data centres a permitted industrial use.

Sources: Planning Act, s. 38 (interim control by-laws), Province of Ontario (e-Laws). Original document. The legal form of a municipal "moratorium": after directing a land-use study, council may pass an interim control by-law for up to one year, extendable to two; appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal within 50 days of notice; no new one on the same lands for three years after it lapses. Notice of passing of Interim Control By-law 2026-129 (data centres), Town of Oakville, dated August 21, 2026. Original document. An Ontario municipality's data-centre interim control by-law, passed August 11, 2026 for one year, with no application before it. Mississauga moves to pause data centre development, City of Mississauga, dated July 30, 2026. Original document. Council directed staff to prepare an interim control by-law on data centres. Here's how some Ontario municipalities are grappling with new AI data centres, The Canadian Press (via BNN Bloomberg), dated September 16, 2026. Original document. A round-up: Hamilton rejected a one-year freeze; Milton and Burlington voted moratoriums down but ordered studies; Sault Ste. Marie drafted one for facilities over 50 MW; Greater Napanee made data centres a permitted industrial use. All retrieved October 7, 2026.

Where does "sovereignty" come in?

Federally, the government invited proposals for large "sovereign AI" data centres of more than 100 MW in early 2026, under non-binding memorandums; none in Ontario had been announced as of October 7, 2026. Barrie already hosts federal computing: the Government of Canada placed its backup enterprise data centre, "EDC Barrie", in IBM's Barrie facility.

Sources: Enabling large-scale sovereign AI data centres, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. Original document. The federal call (January 15 to February 15, 2026) for sovereign AI data centres "greater than 100 megawatts" under non-binding memorandums of understanding. No Ontario or Barrie site had been announced as of October 7, 2026. Harper Government generating savings through data centre consolidation, Government of Canada, dated October 7, 2014. Original document. Names "EDC Barrie", the federal government's backup enterprise data centre, as located in IBM's existing facility in Barrie. All retrieved October 7, 2026.