This spring, just outside Regina, construction is set to begin on Canada's largest data centre. Many of these massive server farms, that train and power AI, are being built or proposed across the country.

They’re all part of a global infrastructure supercycle. In the U.S. alone, data centres have nearly quadrupled since 2010. Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta plan to spend more than $600 billion on their expansion in 2026.

But as they grow – so does resistance to them, as communities begin to ask what they’re giving up to power the world’s chatbots.

Ellen Thomas is an investigative reporter with Business Insider. She’s been covering the AI data centre boom in the U.S. for years.

Ellen spoke to host Jayme Poisson about the true cost of building data centres, and what it takes to keep them open.

For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts