HALIFAX
Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says Ottawa is investing in energy infrastructure to create a foundational base for the new technologies that will power the 21st century economy.
Speaking to a Halifax Chamber of Commerce breakfast on Thursday, Champagne said history shows economies with plenty of energy resources do better in the long run.
"When you invest in foundational pieces like energy, you cannot be wrong because energy will be key to power our economy for now and obviously the future," Champagne told reporters after the event.
He said the world is moving toward electrification in almost every area, including transport, manufacturing and industrial sectors.
Canada has seen an explosion in interest from artificial intelligence companies looking to build energy-hungry data centres to take advantage of the country's abundant resources.
"This is a long-term look at all the digital technology. AI is energy, in a sense. You don't have AI if you don't have energy," Champagne said. "So if you have energy, then the rest comes."
A recent York University report found Canada's existing 194 data centres have a combined capacity to draw 1.6 gigawatts of electricity.
Data centres that are under construction or announced across 213 sites could consume about 22.7 gigawatts, the report said. About 92 per cent of the planned new capacity is proposed for energy-rich Alberta.
Champagne's latest federal budget, delivered last week, committed $50 billion to help implement Ottawa's electricity strategy, which looks to double the size of the grid by 2050.
More than $38 billion was committed to tax credits the government says will stay in place until 2042.
The budget also promised $4 billion over 10 years for electricity infrastructure, including new funding for a Natural Resources program to expand renewable energy.
It signalled Ottawa's intent to update the Clean Electricity Regulations to allow power plants to operate for longer and lay groundwork for a planned liquefied natural gas build out.
Market fluctuations and long-term vision
Champagne's comments came as AI stocks have been falling in recent weeks and the value of AI chip maker Nvidia plummeted Thursday amid the resignation of its CEO.
The finance minister said stock markets are always going to fluctuate, but if Canada invests in a strong energy foundation, the demand and economic benefits will follow.
He said Canada's electricity has historically flowed to the United States, something the federal government is trying to fix through projects like Wind West, Nova Scotia's plan to ship offshore wind energy to other parts of Canada and New England.
The cover of this year's budget featured a photo of Newfoundland and Labrador's Churchill Falls and Gull Island energy project, which includes proposals for more than $50 billion in infrastructure.
If approved, energy from the development would be shared with Quebec.
e2gold.ca reported in November that a planned Alberta data centre could draw up to 1,600 megawatts at full build-out, more than Edmonton's consumption.
This story was written by the e2gold.ca newsroom from reporting by BNN Bloomberg, CityNews and The Spec. Quotes are checked word for word against that reporting.