NDP takes data centre petition to Fort Erie doorsteps
October 17, 2026 at 8:30 AM
Niagara South NDP volunteers will canvass Fort Erie on November 7 for signatures calling for a pause on AI data centres.
Mississauga developer Velocity1 Group has marketed about 400 acres of former farmland west of the QEW in Fort Erie, between Bowen and Gilmore roads, to data centre companies.
Velocity1’s marketing material says a data centre on the site could consume more than 65 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a month, about the monthly use of 87,000 typical Ontario homes, based on the Ontario Energy Board’s residential benchmark.
Velocity1 CEO Azhar Mohammad told CBC News in June that his company had no plans to build a data centre in Fort Erie.
The Town of Fort Erie told Fort Erie Radio in June it had received no formal application or pre-consultation request for a data centre.
“That’s the whole reason we’re doing Fort Erie: to warn people and educate them on that potential coming down the road,” said Niagara South NDP riding association president Christian Audette.
The Niagara South NDP hopes the signatures will persuade Fred Davies, the Conservative MP for Niagara South, to oppose data centres in Niagara.
The riding association will then send its signed petition to the Liberal caucus in Ottawa, where the federal NDP is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to pause AI data centre development.
Volunteers will knock on doors in the neighbourhood east of Central Avenue, between Gilmore Road and the QEW.
Jeff Mann, who handles outreach for the riding association, said a data centre would compete with Fort Erie households for electricity.
“They can’t bring on power-producing facilities fast enough to meet this need. So where’s the power going to come from? It’s going to come from us,” Mann said.
At two Niagara fairs last month, all but one of the dozens of people Audette spoke to opposed a data centre in the region, including voters he described as conservative.
Any data centre on the Velocity1 land would need zoning approval from the Town of Fort Erie before construction could start.
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Andrew Hawlitzky
Andrew is a Niagara community journalist who has covered everything from local politics to annual festivals and breaking news. He works to make local news a platform where community voices lead the conversation. "If you don't like the news, go out and make some!"
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