Data centers in Quebec: 11 projects mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Quebec's one contested data center proposal is in Sherbrooke, where the American company Keel Infrastructure wants to build a 96-megawatt AI data center in the city's industrial district. At a public meeting organized by Sherbrooke Citoyens councilors on September 20, 2026, four city councilors came out against it. Province-wide, Hydro-Québec wants a new data center power rate of about 13 cents a kilowatt-hour, roughly double the current large-industry rate, from November 1, 2026; the Régie de l'énergie hearing is set for this fall.

About 100 people attended the Sherbrooke meeting. Two researchers from an observatory on the social impacts of AI said data centers create noise and heat islands, use a lot of water and electricity, and bring few jobs, and that the noise and climate effects of Keel's project are hard to judge because companies disclose little. "What we are doing here seems to be a step in the right direction," said professor Morgan Mouton, who urged residents to keep organizing.

Quebec has built its data center industry on cheap hydroelectric power, and the province now controls who gets it: any data center wanting 5 megawatts or more needs the energy minister's approval before Hydro-Québec can supply it. Among the biggest sites are Vantage's four-building, 86-megawatt campus in Quebec City and QScale's campus across the river in Lévis, under construction since 2021 and planned for 142 megawatts. Goldman Sachs bought QScale in May 2026. Several operators are challenging Hydro-Québec's proposed rate before the Régie.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.