Mississauga Pauses Large Data Centre Development for Up to One Year

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published September 16, 2026

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Mississauga City Council on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, approved a temporary pause on major data centre and digital infrastructure development for up to one year, giving the city time to review planning rules and assess potential impacts on energy, water, infrastructure and surrounding communities.

The measure applies citywide to major digital infrastructure facilities with a total peak power demand of 10 megawatts or more. It covers applications for new facilities as well as qualifying conversions and expansions of existing sites.

The restriction was adopted through an Interim Control By-law, a planning tool that allows Ontario municipalities to temporarily pause certain types of development while studying how they should be regulated over the longer term.

During the pause, Mississauga will review its Official Plan and Zoning By-law and examine issues including energy and water consumption, noise, environmental impacts, municipal infrastructure and economic activity.

Demand for larger data centres has been growing alongside the expansion of cloud computing and artificial intelligence services. The city notes that data centres support a broad range of digital services, including banking, healthcare, business operations, cloud computing and AI applications.

Several data centres are already operating or permitted in Mississauga. The city is also reviewing a rezoning application for 0 Tenth Line West, where a two-storey, approximately 20,439-square-metre — or 220,000-square-foot — data centre has been proposed.

The Canadian Press reported that the proposed Prologis facility would have a capacity of about 40 megawatts, placing it within the scope of the new moratorium. Prologis said it was disappointed with the decision and was considering its next steps while remaining committed to Mississauga.

The city plans to hold public consultations during the review and bring an interim report to council later this year. Staff will eventually return with recommendations for long-term planning and regulatory policies governing data centres and other major digital infrastructure projects.