Searching for answers, GTA real estate broker cracks open Ontario’s data centre boom — as much as she can

Katie Steinfeld isn’t shy about the fact that she doesn’t have the degrees to make her an authority on technology.

Helping homebuyers forecast what developments may crop up in their backyards, on the other hand, is entirely her domain.

Steinfeld, broker of record and president of On The Block Realty, Inc., is on a mission to bring more transparency to Ontario’s booming data centre industry. 

Steinfeld’s vision is for real estate agents to help bring clarity to clients about data centre development and what it could mean for their communities. The problem, she said, is a lack of resources to help the public understand this growing sector. 

“We’ve jumped into building these centres without anybody really understanding what questions to ask, or how transparent we should be with communities,” she said.

Steinfeld created Ontario Data Centres to help fill that information gap by tracking and centralizing publicly known data centre developments across Ontario, including approvals, infrastructure considerations, regulatory frameworks and industry trends.

“If people don’t know what’s coming into their communities, they can’t really have a say,” said Steinfeld, who has a five-year track record with the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) board, most recently as chair from 2023 to November 2025. 

What’s the issue?

Microsoft’s data centre in Vaughan, Ont. (Microsoft)

From the outside, a data centre looks like a warehouse. They house computer systems and networking equipment used to store, process and distribute data. Essentially, it’s the physical backbone of everything from cloud computing to artificial intelligence.

Canadian data centre market is projected to nearly double in value between 2025 and 2031, with Microsoft alone pledged approximately $19 billion in Canadian investment from 2023 to 2027. 

Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver have emerged as the country’s primary investment hubs. Exact numbers are hard to pin down, but it’s widely understood that there are well over 100 data centres already built in Ontario. 

The federal as well as provincial governments are vying for major projects. Through the Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy, the federal government is heavily incentivizing the development of large-scale, domestic computing infrastructure.

The potential effects on residents living near data centres do not appear to be well understood, but consumer concerns range from questions around energy and water consumption, utility costs, health impacts and neighbourhood character. 

Hundreds of people marched through Vancouver on Saturday to protest two planned data centres in the city, raising concerns about the amount of water and energy such facilities can use. 

Why real estate professionals need to pay attention

Real estate professionals have a duty to uncover material facts about properties, said Steinfeld, and a lack of accessible information limits their ability to provide due diligence to clients.

When buyers ask about upcoming developments in a neighbourhood, a proposed data centre should be part of that discussion. The problem, she said, is twofold: most agents aren’t asking about it, and even if they are, the information can be difficult to find.

“With other developments, you can go to city websites and do a lot more searching,” she said. “Right now, there’s a gap where you really have to dig to find out if there are any proposed sites around a particular home,” she said.

She encourages agents within her brokerage to bring up the topic early in the buying process, asking clients upfront which aspects of a community would be dealbreakers. 

Steinfeld built Ontario Data Centres using Replit, an AI-powered development tool, before verifying all the data herself. 

The irony isn’t lost on her. 

“There’s been pushback from people saying it’s ironic that you’re using AI as a tool while also speaking up about data centres,” she said. “It’s not about being anti-AI. It’s about being pro-responsibility and pro-transparency, so everybody understands what’s happening.”

Not all data centres are the same

When information is missing, assumptions tend to take over.

“When people hear data centres, they think of huge Meta facilities in the States that are having such a major impact on communities,” she said. But many smaller facilities, she argues, don’t carry those same risks.

The differences matter: how much water a facility uses, how much electricity it consumes and what its footprint looks like within a neighbourhood.

“Each one is so different,” she said. “We need to educate people about the different types, how they’re using water, how they’re using electricity.”

What’s next

Steinfeld’s immediate focus is expanding the site’s map, which currently tracks a fraction of the roughly 150 built facilities across Ontario, a number she believes still underrepresents what’s proposed or already in development.

The regulatory picture remains fragmented. Bill 40, which received royal assent in December, addresses which data centre sites the minister can approve for connection to the electricity grid — but regulations stemming from the bill have yet to materialize. 

Until they do, Steinfeld says, it’s hard to know what oversight will look like in practice or how much transparency the public can expect. 

Her hope is that when those regulations do arrive, they’ll provide clearer guidance and a central point of reference for communities and real estate professionals alike.

Real Estate Magazine has reached out to Ontario’s Ministry of Energy and Mines for information.

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