Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath has called a special meeting of Hamilton City Council for Tuesday, July 14, 2026, to hear from McMaster University, SHARCNET, and the federal Digital Research Alliance of Canada about why they believe City Council should permit planned research artificial intelligence data centres to move forward in Hamilton.
Council will vote the next day, July 15, to ratify its 15-1 decision to draft an Interim Control Bylaw prohibiting new, or expansion of existing, data centres for up to one year. The bylaw can be renewed for a second year under the Planning Act, but only through a separate Council vote.
If ratified, the bylaw takes effect immediately. It can be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
The pending ban on data centres follows rapid and intense public opposition to AI data centres that has seen record numbers of letters sent to City Hall, the largest-ever attendance at Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment, and the rare use of the Planning Act’s interim control bylaw powers.
The meeting agenda, posted late in the evening on Thursday, July 9, 2026, states the purpose of the special meeting is for Council to hear “expert, science-based information on AI data centres: what they are, their purpose(s), the different types, sizes, and scales of data centres in use around the world, their respective impacts on communities potential impacts (both positive and negative), and how those impacts may factor into municipal policy decisions.”
The issue gained public attention in the weeks following the May 7, 2026, publication of Slate Asset Management’s severance application for a data centre campus on a 76-hectare section of the former Stelco lands, known as Steelport. The proposal was intended to host federally funded data centres operated by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. It triggered record-breaking public opposition, drawing 1,209 letters of opposition from residents worried about energy consumption, water depletion, and noise pollution.
The public pushback culminated on June 4, 2026, when hundreds of residents packed a Committee of Adjustment meeting, marking the largest crowd to ever attend such a hearing in Hamilton. The Committee received over 1,200 letters of opposition. In response to the outcry, CoA Member Robert Reid moved to deny the severance, while acknowledging it met all the tests for approval.
“It meets all the regulations for that property. But at the same token, because of the residents, the way they came out today and voiced their opinions, I make a motion to deny the severance,” he stated.
Slate has appealed the denial to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Concurrently, Ward 3 Councillor Nrinder Nann introduced a motion at City Council for an interim control bylaw. The motion sought to enforce a city-wide moratorium on all new data centre developments for up to two years while municipal zoning regulations are updated.
During the June 24, 2026 City Council ratification meeting, council members approved creating the interim control bylaw in a 15-1 vote, rejecting a proposed exemption for smaller-scale academic facilities like a research data centre planned for 44 Frid Street at the McMaster Innovation Park in a 14-2 vote.
The upcoming special meeting on July 14, 2026, is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. at Hamilton City Hall. The meeting is open to the public. The formal Interim Control Bylaw Bill is scheduled for a ratification vote on July 15.
TPR will provide liveblog coverage of both meetings, including Tuesday’s delegations and Wednesday’s ratification vote.
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Published: July 10, 2026
Last updated: July 10, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
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