But first…
If this is your first time reading The Level, welcome 👋
Ok, let’s get right into the poll results from our last issue.
After making the case for each one, we asked which of the four cities you think will be named as the home of the NATO-backed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank?
** Drum roll **
Vancouver - 47% ✅
Ottawa - 27%
Toronto - 20%
Montreal - 6%
It brings up a good question I received from a few readers. Is there any bias from where The Level's audience is located?
This being our first-ever city poll, my answer was “I dunno.”
So I dug into it.
50% of our subscribers are in B.C. while Ontario makes up 30%. Another 10% call Alberta home with the remaining 10% divided between the rest.
I guess it’s totally possible there’s a regional bias. But that’s okay. This wasn’t a scientific poll. It was just a snapshot of what our readers think.
For what it’s worth, I’m based in Vancouver and I don’t think we have the slightest chance of winning.
If the ‘NA’ in NATO stands for the North Atlantic, why choose a city situated on the Pacific? That makes zero sense to me… but I digress 🤷♀️
My money’s on Toronto.
Today’s feature story is about recent announcements of new data centres and the government’s determination to build sovereign AI infrastructure.
Check it out below and, like always, don’t forget to vote.
-Neil
Image: Telus
It’s critical infrastructure
Canada already spends $1.3 billion outsourcing data processing to Amazon, Microsoft, and Google — and that dependence is getting riskier by the day.
U.S. law can force American-owned servers to hand over Canadian health data, even if those servers sit on Canadian soil.
Sovereign data centres aren't optional if Canada wants to modernize health care, education, and public services. Falling behind now means catching up on someone else's terms later.
Would you want one in your backyard?
Data centres rival small cities in water and electricity consumption.
Vancouver is one of the wettest cities on earth but is already facing a water crisis due to climate change. Nearly three in four Canadians worry data centres will strain the electricity grid and raise costs for families.
But once shovels hit the ground, the debate is effectively over.
Where do you stand?
After reading both sides, where do you stand on building data centres in Canada?
In other news
For the second time in the past year, Putin is making a visit to China (CNBC)
StatsCan says fewer Albertans than residents of other provinces are highly satisfied with their life (CTV)
You’ll be shocked to learn what happened on this Toronto street after a speed camera was shut down (driving.ca)
In case you missed it, here’s a link to our previous story featuring Vancouver and Ottawa in our battle of the cities for the DSRB HQUntil next time!
Until next time!