AI Data Centre

My Position On the Proposed AI Data Centre

Why this Matters

As I continue canvassing across Ward 2, residents are raising many important issues from public safety and neighbourhood cleanliness to housing, affordability, and the proposed AI data centre. Through those conversations, one message has stood out consistently: residents want to be informed and meaningfully involved before major decisions affecting their neighbourhood are made. For me, this issue is fundamentally about transparency.

What I Heard from Residents

During one conversation, a resident asked me directly whether I knew about the proposed data centre and where I stood on it. We had a thoughtful discussion right there on the doorstep. In another conversation, a resident spoke about decisions made in her neighborhood, including the Barton-Tiffany Temporary Shelter, and shared her frustration that residents felt informed after key decisions had already been made rather than earlier in the process. Whether people agreed with those decisions or not, the underlying concern was the same: residents want a meaningful opportunity to understand proposals, ask questions, and participate before decisions are finalized.

My Position

What I heard on those doorsteps was not new to me. Long before becoming a candidate, I shared many of those same concerns as a resident. So when the proposed AI data centre continued to come up while I was canvassing, I decided to attend the June 24, 2026 City Council meeting not as a candidate, but as a concerned citizen. Councillors voted to pause the project, and I welcomed that decision. It was also encouraging to see Hamiltonians come together, participate in the discussion, and make their voices heard. That is democracy working the way it should.

I support the pause not because I oppose development, but because projects of this scale deserve transparency, meaningful public consultation, and careful review before final decisions are made. Hamilton should continue attracting innovation, investment, and good-paying jobs. Economic growth and public transparency should go hand in hand. At the same time, residents deserve clear information about the potential impacts large data centres may have on electricity demand, water resources, infrastructure, and surrounding neighborhoods. Those questions deserve honest, clear answers, and the current pause should be used to provide them through an open and transparent process where residents are informed, heard, and can see how their feedback is considered.

Why Transparency Matters

Transparency is not an obstacle to development. it is what builds public trust. When residents understand what is being proposed, they have access to accurate information, and are invited into the conversation before decisions are finalized, communities are stronger and decisions are  better.

Proposal & Commitment

That is why I am proposing a Ward 2 Community Advisory Committee: a permanent forum where residents are notified early, can ask questions, provide input, and see how their feedback influences the outcome before major decisions are made.

Residents should never have to wonder what City Hall is planning in their neighbourhood. They deserve timely information, meaningful opportunities to participate, and confidence that their voices are valued throughout the process not only when final decisions are announced.

Ward 2 Deserves Better. 

Practical Solutions. Real Results.