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Ratings for the physical buildout of AI

Jurisdiction Index / Canada

Canada

Tier 2 · Competitive
Stable
Rank #10 of 30
Data confidence A
62.3 /100

JCI composite · as of · methodology v0

Canada scores 62.3/100 on the Compute Institute Jurisdiction Competitiveness Index (Tier 2, Competitive), ranking #10 of 30 rated jurisdictions with a stable outlook, as of June 15, 2026 under methodology v0. Its strongest dimension is Stability & Execution Risk at 8.5/10; its weakest is Power Availability & Deliverability at 5.2/10. 21 of 22 sub-factors are scored on E1–E2 evidence (data confidence A).

Dimension breakdown

Seven dimensions, each 0–10, weighted per methodology v0. JCI = Σ(dimension × weight) × 10.

Power Availability & Deliverability

5.2 /10 weight 20%

Power Cost

6.9 /10 weight 12.5%

Speed to Build

5.9 /10 weight 17.5%

Regulatory & AI Policy Environment

6.1 /10 weight 12.5%

Fiscal & Incentives

5.4 /10 weight 10%

Capital & Ecosystem Depth

5.9 /10 weight 12.5%

Stability & Execution Risk

8.5 /10 weight 15%

Sub-factor scores and sources

Every base-scored input below carries E1–E2 evidence: a justification, an evidence-level grade, and a link to the underlying source document.

Power Availability & Deliverability — 5.2/10 (weight 20%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Grid headroom 40% of dimension 5 /10 AESO imposed an interim 1,200 MW Phase 1 cap on new large-load connections; Hydro-Québec rations allocations; BC limits data-center energy use — hydro-rich system but binding administrative caps. as of
E1
AESO Large Load Projects / phased connection plan www.aeso.ca
Time-to-power 35% of dimension 4 /10 Grid connections gated by allocation rounds (Quebec/AESO competitive calls limited to ~300-400 MW tranches); off-grid gas in Alberta is the practical fast path but adds generation build time. as of
E2
AESO phased connection plan (analysis, McCarthy Tétrault) www.mccarthy.ca
Energy mix & expandability 15% of dimension 6.5 /10 Abundant hydro baseload plus legal behind-the-fence gas generation in Alberta's deregulated market; new large hydro additions are decade-scale. as of
E1
Osler — Powering AI: Canada's grid connection policies www.osler.com
Water availability 10% of dimension 8.5 /10 Low baseline water stress in nearly all candidate siting regions per WRI Aqueduct; cold climate aids cooling. as of
E1
WRI Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas www.wri.org

Power Cost — 6.9/10 (weight 12.5%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Industrial electricity price 60% of dimension 7.5 /10 Hydro-Québec Rate L ~CAD 0.06/kWh (~USD 45/MWh) among lowest in cohort; Alberta pool prices higher but contractable. as of
E1
Hydro-Québec Rate L (large-power industrial) www.hydroquebec.com
Price trajectory & exposure 25% of dimension 5 /10 Hydro-Québec has proposed roughly doubling rates for large data centres from mid-2026 (approved direction, flagged E2); Alberta transmission tariff redesign in progress. as of
E2
Hydro-Québec large-load rate proposal (reported, The Logic/DCD) www.datacenterdynamics.com
Cost certainty / contractability 15% of dimension 7.5 /10 Long-tenor contracts available (HQ contracts, Alberta merchant PPAs in CAD); convertible currency, stable counterparties. as of
E1
Osler — Powering AI: Canada's grid connection policies www.osler.com

Speed to Build — 5.9/10 (weight 17.5%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Permitting regime 40% of dimension 5.5 /10 Alberta is streamlining (AUC process changes for DC development in force); provincial environmental assessment and municipal processes elsewhere add 1-2 yrs vs US Sun Belt. as of
E1
Alberta regulatory changes for data centre development (Bennett Jones analysis of AUC rules) www.bennettjones.com
Observed construction velocity 35% of dimension — Excluded — no E1–E2 evidence available; weaker evidence cannot enter a base score. — —
Labor & supply capacity 25% of dimension 6.5 /10 Solid construction labor and EPC depth in Alberta/Ontario from energy megaprojects; smaller specialized DC trades pool than US. as of
E2
Statistics Canada construction labour data www.statcan.gc.ca

Regulatory & AI Policy Environment — 6.1/10 (weight 12.5%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
AI-specific law in force 35% of dimension 5.5 /10 No federal AI statute in force (AIDA/Bill C-27 died on the order paper in 2025); Quebec Law 25 privacy rules apply — permissive but unsettled. as of
E1
Parliament of Canada — Bill C-27 status www.parl.ca
DC-specific regulation 35% of dimension 4.5 /10 Binding allocation/limitation regimes in force: AESO interim cap, Hydro-Québec authorization requirement for large loads, BC restrictions and cryptomining ban. as of
E1
Hydro-Québec large-load rate proposal (reported, The Logic/DCD) www.datacenterdynamics.com
Regulatory predictability 30% of dimension 8.5 /10 WGI Regulatory Quality/Rule of Law ~93rd percentile; transparent regulatory process. as of
E1
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators www.worldbank.org

Fiscal & Incentives — 5.4/10 (weight 10%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Enacted incentives 40% of dimension 5 /10 Alberta AI Data Centre Strategy in force (process facilitation, not tax abatement); no national DC-specific tax exemption; federal Sovereign AI Compute Strategy funds compute, not private campuses. as of
E1
Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy (ISED) ised-isde.canada.ca
Headline tax burden 40% of dimension 5.5 /10 Combined federal-provincial CIT ~26.5% (15% federal + ~11.5% provincial); accelerated investment incentive partially offsets. as of
E1
OECD Corporate Tax Statistics — United States www.oecd.org
Incentive durability 20% of dimension 6 /10 Few incentives to claw back; Quebec's reversal on crypto-era discounts is a documented precedent of regime tightening. as of
E1
Hydro-Québec cryptocurrency moratorium record www.hydroquebec.com

Capital & Ecosystem Depth — 5.9/10 (weight 12.5%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Committed capital 40% of dimension 6 /10 Signed/financed projects (TELUS Sovereign AI Factories, Bell AI Fabric, eStruxture expansions) total low single-digit GW; mega-announcements like Wonder Valley remain E4 and are excluded. as of
E2
Bell Canada AI Fabric / TELUS sovereign AI disclosures www.bce.ca
Ecosystem 30% of dimension 6.5 /10 Mature Toronto/Montreal DC markets (~1 GW combined), strong cross-border fiber, hyperscaler regions present, unrestricted GPU access as close US ally. as of
E1
EIA/ERCOT load data; TeleGeography fiber maps www.submarinecablemap.com
Sovereign/anchor capital availability 30% of dimension 5 /10 Funded federal $2B Sovereign AI Compute Strategy in force plus large pension funds (CPPIB, CDPQ) active in digital infra, though without AI-DC mandates. as of
E1
Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy (ISED) ised-isde.canada.ca

Stability & Execution Risk — 8.5/10 (weight 15%)

Sub-factor
Score
Justification
Evidence
Source
Political/policy continuity 40% of dimension 8 /10 WGI Political Stability/Government Effectiveness high; federal-provincial friction over energy is real but infrastructure regimes rarely reversed retroactively. as of
E1
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators www.worldbank.org
Currency, transfer & convertibility 35% of dimension 9 /10 Fully convertible CAD, no capital controls (IMF AREAER), AAA/AA+ sovereign. as of
E1
IMF AREAER — United States www.elibrary-areaer.imf.org
Physical & geopolitical risk 25% of dimension 8.5 /10 No conflict/sanctions exposure; wildfire smoke and extreme cold are manageable design considerations; US trade-policy dependency a mild flag. as of
E1
ACLED / public risk data acleddata.com

Signals

Recent ingested source documents linked to this jurisdiction via extracted claims or triage mentions, newest first.

  1. E4
    Government of Canada tables new legislation to protect children’s data, strengthen privacy and build trust in the digital economy

    · Government of Canada News · relevance 0.00

  2. E4
    With update to Canada’s privacy laws, feds are building a “super-regulator”

    · BetaKit · relevance 0.00

  3. E4
    Minister Gull-Masty to make historic announcement on First Nations drinking water

    · Government of Canada News · relevance 0.00

  4. E4
    Targeted initiatives to respond to the illegal drug crisis

    · Government of Canada News · relevance 0.00

  5. E4
    Two-week pause of Canadian hydropower exposes frailty of Mass. plan to wean off natural gas

    · Renewable Energy World · relevance 0.00

  6. E4
    Federal and provincial government investment of more than $200 million for Phase II of the University of Montreal Science Complex: Canada and Quebec at the forefront of advanced materials, computing and artificial intelligence

    · Government of Canada News · relevance 0.30

  7. E4
    Bitdeer breaks ground on natural gas plant and data center in Alberta, Canada

    · Data Center Dynamics · relevance 0.75

  8. E4
    Canada and Prince Edward Island invest in wastewater and stormwater infrastructure to support more housing in Alberton

    · Government of Canada News · relevance 0.00

  9. E4
    Canada and Prince Edward Island invest in wastewater infrastructure to support more housing in Wellington

    · Government of Canada News · relevance 0.00

  10. E4
    MDA Space, Calian, and Kepler tapped to lay groundwork for Canada’s next-gen satellite system

    · BetaKit · relevance 0.00

Scores are reproducible from the frozen inputs snapshot recorded at computation time (2026-06-15T23:52:36+00:00). See the full methodology for rubrics, weights, and the evidence ladder.