AI control: Victoria councillors put data centres on the CRD agenda

Motion aims to have regional district explore options, implications should centres come calling

AI control: Victoria councillors put data centres on the CRD agenda Published 12:40 pm Monday, July 13, 2026 A pair of Victoria councillors hope to inspire data centre talk at the Capital Regional District level. CRD directors, and Victoria councillors, Jeremy Caradonna and Coun.

Dave Thompson will ask the regional environmental committee that meets Wednesday (July 15) to have staff research on AI data centres, their potential environmental, utility and land-use impacts in this region, and potential policy options for regulating data centres in the Capital Region. “When it comes to AI data centres, governments need to focus on protecting the public interest, not on being cheerleaders. I want to explore our regulatory options,” Thompson said.

The motion stems from the recent announcement by the federal government on a new national AI strategy that includes no new protections for water or climate, and says very little about the environmental, land-use, or water impacts of data centres. It also doesn’t address potential impacts on utility bills. To date, no AI data centre has been proposed in the CRD, but such facilities have been proposed elsewhere in the province, including up Island.

“Many jurisdictions across the U.S. and UK have limited or banned AI data centres due to growing concerns about energy consumption, climate impacts, water requirements, and utility costs,” the pair notes in a news release. “It is likely only a matter of time before one is proposed in this region, given our relatively abundant water resources. The purpose of this motion is to get a better sense of the impacts of these facilities and to learn more about local governments’ jurisdiction in regulating or limiting the development of AI data centres.”

Victoria submitted a related motion to both the Union of BC Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, pushing for higher levels of government to consider artificial intelligence a national security threat that presents risks to all levels of government and the principles that uphold democratic society. It notes AI has developed rapidly in recent years, in some cases sowing social discord and generating false or misleading information. That motion UBCM and FCM to call on the provincial and federal governments to work collaboratively with local governments in creating reasonable and enforceable regulations.

VIDEO: Victoria councillor calls for AI regulation using AI rendering About the