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For Canada’s data centre industry, demand and momentum are on the rise, but speed bumps remain on the road to rivaling the U.S. market.
While the market is projected to reach more than US$25B by 2031, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 13.95% from 2026 to 2031, according to Mordor Intelligence, developers and investors need to overcome provincial power rationing, supply chain delays, land constraints and other challenges to bring these facilities to life.
How are data centre stakeholders overcoming these hurdles? Where are new facilities being built? What do the next few years truly look like for the Canadian data centre market? These questions and more will be discussed at Bisnow’s Canadian Data Centre Conference & Expo on Nov. 5 at the Hyatt Regency Toronto. Register here for the event.
Cushman & Wakefield Global Data Center Advisory Group Associate Vice President Michael Borron will deliver the event’s opening remarks. Cushman & Wakefield has been a major player in the data centre market, supporting occupiers, landlords, investors and operators throughout the entire facility life cycle. In June 2025, the firm launched Athena, an interactive mapping tool that combines infrastructure details, environmental factors and Cushman & Wakefield proprietary research to aid in the data centre site selection process.
"While land and power constraints are real, they are increasingly being addressed through earlier utility engagement, creative site selection strategies and expansion into emerging markets beyond traditional hubs," Borron said. "Cushman & Wakefield helps clients navigate these complexities by combining local market expertise with data-driven analysis to identify opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked."
Bisnow spoke with Borron to learn more about the Canadian data centre market and the role Cushman & Wakefield hopes to play in the future of this industry.
Bisnow: What’s driving demand for data centre growth in Canada?
Borron: Sovereign compute capacity, artificial intelligence growth and cloud adoption are all major drivers. Demand in Canada has always been growing. It just hasn’t grown as quickly as in U.S. markets, but it’s starting to catch up. Canada is now seeing demand from hyperscale campuses and AI training requirements.
Canada's access to low-carbon power, political stability and highly skilled talent positions it to capture a growing share of global AI and cloud infrastructure investment. At Cushman & Wakefield, we're seeing increased interest from hyperscalers, developers and institutional investors who recognize Canada's long-term potential as a strategic data centre market.
Bisnow: What have been some of the barriers to growth in the Canadian data centre market?
Borron: Canada's major cities are more land-constrained than many people realize. Canada is a big country, but there are policies and regulations in place to prevent urban sprawl, so you can’t simply point at green space on a map and put a new building there. Because of that, industrially zoned land in our major markets is expensive, and that’s before you factor in power.
Additionally, many of Canada’s power markets are regulated, and operators need to go through several interconnection studies and approvals to get the power they need. Despite all this, we have still seen tremendous growth, and the demand is there.
Bisnow: As associate vice president of Cushman & Wakefield’s global data center advisory group, how are you using site intelligence tools like Athena to help clients mitigate risks when selecting a data centre site?
Borron: Athena is our proprietary site selection platform. It brings together key information about potential data centre sites, including geographic data, risk information, power infrastructure, environmental features and more, all in one place. It allows us to work quickly with clients to rule out risky or unavailable sites and give them a focused shortlist of sites that best meet their needs. The data gets us to the right sites faster; our on-the-ground market knowledge is what confirms whether a site can actually be delivered.
What differentiates Cushman & Wakefield is our ability to combine powerful technology with deep on-the-ground market intelligence across Canada and globally. As site requirements become more complex, that combination is helping clients make faster, more informed decisions and accelerate project timelines in a highly competitive market.
Bisnow: What other hot topics do you think will be discussed at Bisnow’s event?
Borron: Rising community pushback against data centres will definitely be a major topic of conversation, and it has quickly become a new constraint for developers and operators. Before, it was all about finding sufficient power. Now, even if you do have the power you need, if the community doesn’t want you there, it will be difficult to move forward. Developers and operators need to work with communities and help them understand the benefits these facilities can bring.
The conversation I’ve been having for years in Canadian markets is that we’re just not building enough new supply. The slightly more conservative nature of Canada's utility and data centre markets has left us, for the most part, underdeveloped when it comes to data centre capacity. The vast majority of capacity under construction for 2027 delivery is already preleased. Canadian enterprises need data centre capacity for their own high-density deployments, and we need to get more capacity into the construction pipeline.
At the same time, we're seeing increasingly productive conversations between developers, utilities, municipalities and community stakeholders about how data centres can support economic development, job creation and digital infrastructure resilience. Canada's growing recognition of data centres as critical infrastructure should help create a more supportive environment for future development.
Bisnow: What do you think the key takeaway will be after the event is over?
Borron: The takeaway is simple: We need to build more in Canada. We've seen demand growing in the U.S., and we've always been a couple of years behind in that life cycle, but the majority of what we have under construction is already spoken for. If we don’t start the next phase now and keep adding capacity, vacancy will keep tightening, and Canadian occupiers will face real shortages.
The encouraging news is that Canada has all the fundamentals needed to support the next wave of data centre growth, including strong demand drivers, renewable power resources and access to major North American markets. Cushman & Wakefield is committed to helping occupiers, investors and developers bring that next generation of capacity online and unlock Canada's full potential as a leading digital infrastructure destination.
Meeting the next phase of demand will require experienced advisers who understand the intersection of real estate, power, capital and digital infrastructure. Cushman & Wakefield's global data centre platform and local Canadian expertise position us to help clients navigate that complexity and successfully deliver projects in an increasingly competitive market.
This article was produced in collaboration between Cushman & Wakefield and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.
Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.
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