For decades, Moore’s Law has captured the exponential pace of progress in computing; the idea that processing power doubles roughly every two years. That pattern is alive and well today, especially with the surge in artificial intelligence that has the semiconductor industry leading the charge.

However, every leap in computing power comes with a cost: energy. The AI buildout is pushing data centers to consume electricity at unprecedented rates. Power demand in North America, particularly in the U.S., is rising faster than utilities can expand generation and transmission. Some regions are already warning of potential energy shortages within the next few years.

 

 

Canada’s Big Opportunity

 

The global race to build data centers, the backbone of the AI cloud computing, is accelerating fast. These facilities require huge amounts of power, land, cooling and critical minerals for chips and batteries. Canada has all of them!

 

Abundant clean energy, vast natural resources, and a stable political environment puts Canada in a strong position to benefit from this next wave of infrastructure investment. The challenge isn’t what we have, it’s whether we are willing to allow it to happen. Permitting timelines, regulatory hurdles, and local opposition could determine whether Canada becomes a leader or a spectator in this data boom. Let’s hope it’s the former!

 

I've also included a piece from our CIBC Economics team entitled "Nothing we can do, or is there?". 

 

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call at any time.

 

Have a great weekend.

 

Milan