Jake Wilcocks writes in on his opinion on an AI data centre being built in Sarnia-Lambton
At a Chamber of Commerce breakfast on February 19, 2026, Sarnia-Lambton Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Bob Bailey told reporters that an AI data centre was interested in locating in Sarnia-Lambton and has already spoken to officials about the project.
Consumers end up subsidizing AI data centres by way of increased energy and water costs
The AI data centre in Sarnia-Lambton would require at least 100 megawatts of power according to the MPP, which is enough to support 50,000-75,000 homes, as many as Lambton County has in total. That amount of energy usage would greatly increase demand, which will in turn lead to higher energy costs for every household in Sarnia-Lambton, as evidenced by other communities around Canada and the US that have had AI data centres built in their backyards. Consumers often see energy rates increase by 20-40%, and in some cases as much as 267%, when data centres are built nearby, adding onto the already burdensome cost of living we face.
Bob Bailey goes on to say that the data centre would “be great for jobs,” but data centres require very few actual staff once they are fully operational, employing usually only a few dozen people.
Data Centres use immense amounts of water to cool the energy-intensive GPUs and CPUs, 80% of which evaporates and is not recycled back into the water system. A 100 megawatt data centre requires 1-2 million litres of water per day. Again, this will greatly increase water demand in Sarnia-Lambton and directly lead to an increase in costs for residents.
The AI data centre would need to apply to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), which manages Ontario’s power system. This could be one place where we as a community can exert pressure to stop an AI data centre from being built in Sarnia-Lambton and increasing costs for our residents.
AI data centres also emit a large amount of pollution, both in the form of the release of toxic chemicals and in noise pollution for residents nearby, which can result in a constant hum of over 90 dB, above the 85 dB threshold that can damage hearing. Residents in other areas where AI data centres have been built have not only had to stop opening their windows, but have gone so far as to put mattresses over them to block the noise. AI data centres also drop the value of homes in the area, since there is less demand to buy a house next to one.
We as a community need to stay informed and push back against this. Keep an eye out for city council and other meetings, distribute fliers, and talk with your neighbours about it. Other communities have successfully thwarted AI data centres being built in their backyards by organizing, and we can too. This is not inevitable.
