The Infrastructure Behind Everyday Life in Canada

Powering and protecting what Canadians count on every day.

Every day, we count on infrastructure we never see.

We count on doctors keeping our health records up to date and on banks keeping our financial records safe. We trust companies with our personal information. Businesses depend on protecting their ideas and confidential information.

All of that data has to be stored, processed, and protected somewhere. Today, Canada relies heavily on computing infrastructure and services located or controlled outside the country.

Canada now needs to build the infrastructure that keeps Canadians' data here on Canadian soil, under Canadian laws. That's good for our sovereignty and good for our economy.

What is a Data Centre?

The building behind many of the digital services Canadians use every day.

Most people use data centres every day without realizing it.

They help power the internet, email, online banking, streaming services, hospital records, and emergency response systems. When you send a message, stream a movie, or access an online service, a data centre is usually working behind the scenes to make it happen.

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Training and running computing systems

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Accelerating medical research

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Analyzing large scientific datasets

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Designing and testing new products

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Supporting Canadian innovation and discovery

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Engineering and advanced manufacturing

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Data warehousing and processing

Data Centres Do Much More

Today's most advanced facilities provide the computing power behind research, healthcare, business, and innovation.

Inside these facilities, thousands of specialized computer chips work together as one powerful system. They help researchers process enormous amounts of information, help businesses solve complex challenges, and support the technologies shaping the future.

Like roads, power lines, and broadband networks, data centres have become essential infrastructure. They provide the computing capacity that modern economies, public services, and research institutions rely on every day.

This infrastructure is behind the healthcare, research, manufacturing, and businesses building Canada's future.

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Research

They speed up work that depends on huge amounts of data.

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Healthcare

They support cancer research, medical scans, gene research, and new treatments.

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Manufacturing

They support the digital design, simulation, and testing that help modern manufacturers build products faster and more efficiently.

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Business

They give Canadian companies the tools to grow and compete around the world.

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Innovation

They help Canadian inventors, start-ups, and researchers turn new ideas into real products and companies, built here at home.

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Workforce

They help Canadians build the technical and skilled-trades careers this infrastructure depends on.

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Talent

They keep our brightest students, engineers, and researchers building their careers here.

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Keeping data processing and storage in Canada can give organizations greater control over where their data is processed and stored, who controls the infrastructure, and which laws apply.

The Services We Rely On

From hospital records to research data, this is what advanced computing carries.

Some of this infrastructure we already trust with our lives.

  • A cancer patient's imaging results.
  • A researcher's years of gene research.
  • A hospital record system that has to be there when it's needed.

For sensitive information, where the infrastructure is located, who controls it, and which laws govern it can matter.

Original signatory

Part of Canada's Responsible Data Centre Future

The Government of Canada has established Responsible Data Centre Development Principles to help guide how this infrastructure is built. BUZZ is an original signatory and is committed to following these principles.

The principles call for data centres to:

1. Create lasting local benefits.

2. Not shift electricity costs to Canadians.

3. Minimize water use and environmental impacts.

4. Be transparent about local impacts.

5. Bring strategic value to Canada.

Those are commitments we intend to bring to Oakville.

Why Ontario

Ontario brings real strengths to this work. It has one of the cleanest power grids in North America, running mostly on nuclear and hydroelectric power. It is also home to world-class computing and AI research at the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo, and the Vector Institute.

Decades of industry and technology growth have built a large pool of engineers and skilled trades workers. Building here connects that talent and that clean power with the buildings needed to put both to work.

Careers That Last

Building a facility like this takes hundreds of construction workers.

Running it takes a steady local team long after the building opens. That team covers skilled trades, technology and engineering, site operations, security, administration, cleaning and grounds work, and environmental care.

The work also reaches beyond the site, through the local businesses and contractors the facility relies on every day.

These are ongoing roles and local contracts that keep essential infrastructure running for decades.

What You Need to Know

Straight answers to the questions we hear most.

Will this affect my electricity bill?

These facilities use a lot of electricity, and we take that seriously. BUZZ has committed to paying the costs of connecting and serving the facility rather than passing those costs to other electricity customers, in line with the federal Responsible Data Centre Development Principles.

BUZZ will not ask Oakville taxpayers to pay for the project or the infrastructure needed to connect it to the power grid. Before the project can move ahead, it must go through Ontario's planning and approval process to make sure enough electricity is available to serve it reliably.

Ontario's electricity comes mostly from nuclear and hydroelectric power, which are lower-carbon energy sources. We are also designing the campus to use energy efficiently and looking for ways to capture and reuse heat from the computing equipment.

Will this use up local water supplies?

Our primary compute cooling system recirculates water in a closed loop rather than continuously consuming fresh water for server cooling. Think of it like the coolant in a car: the same water keeps circulating in a sealed loop to carry heat away, instead of being used up and drained.

The primary compute cooling system does not require a continuous supply of fresh water for server cooling. We also look for ways to capture and reuse rainwater, follow global best practices for using water wisely, and report our water use publicly every year.

Will I be able to hear it?

Our design objective is that normal facility operations should not be noticeable from nearby residential areas. Noise planning starts before construction. Independent sound experts measure how loud the area is today, and they study every part of the building that could make noise. The facility is then designed to run below town and provincial noise limits, with extra room to spare. We use quiet equipment, sound-proof enclosures, barriers, padding that stops vibration, and careful site planning to keep sound in. The site also sits in an industrial area, next to highways, with natural green space between it and the closest homes. Once the facility opens, independent experts measure the real sound levels to confirm we met the target. If we have not, BUZZ will add more noise controls and test again. Residents will have a clear way to raise concerns, and we will look into every one right away.

What does this mean for jobs and my local economy?

Data centres can create significant employment opportunities, both during construction and throughout long-term operations. Projects like these can support more than 1,000 construction jobs at peak construction, hundreds of permanent direct jobs once operational, and hundreds of additional jobs through local contractors and service providers. They can also create dozens of apprenticeship and co-op opportunities each year, helping people build careers in skilled trades, technology, and operations.

As a result, projects like these can contribute to local economic activity, support small and medium-sized businesses, and create long-term employment opportunities across a wide range of industries.

How does a project like this get approved in Ontario?

Projects like this usually follow the same set of steps. First come technical studies and a review by the utility. Next come planning approvals from the local town. Then the public gets a chance to comment. Finally, town council makes the decision.

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