Fundy Shores Moves to Put Data Centres Behind Rezoning

No data centre has been proposed in Fundy Shores. The municipality still wants the rules written first.

Your Saint John reported on Oct. 30 that council is advancing a zoning by-law amendment to its rural plan. Future data-centre proposals would need council approval through a rezoning, instead of sliding through under existing zoning in some areas. The package would also temporarily prohibit new data-centre development while the municipality finishes the regulations.

Social licence before the shovel

Mayor George (Denny) Cogswell framed the move around community consent. "I think you can check all the boxes for the environmental impact assessments, but without the social license being part of that, then I feel like you are failing people in those communities," he said.

Council made the same point in a statement last month when it joined calls for a provincial pause on large-scale data centres — a debate that sharpened after the proposed Lorneville / VoltAgrid project near Saint John. Fundy Shores said it is not anti-development, pointing to its work building public support for nuclear and medical-isotope opportunities, but argued AI data centres should meet the same bar.

"We have worked to build that social license for nuclear through engagement, transparency, trust, and an ongoing relationship with our residents over the many years. That same standard must be applied to AI data centres," the council statement said.

Cogswell also cited the discovery of ten data-centre interests seeking connections to the provincial grid — the same queue pressure covered in our NB Power interconnection reporting. As a small, relatively new municipality with limited infrastructure and a lot of Crown or outside-owned land, he said the old rural plan could have allowed a centre in some areas without a council vote. "We are trying to put the power back on the community," he said.

First municipal rulebook?

Sibo Chen, an associate professor of professional communication at Toronto Metropolitan University who studies data-centre controversies, called Fundy Shores' move part of a "broader trend" of neighbouring communities demanding a say when impacts spill past a project fence line.

Chris Watson of the advocacy group Save Lorneville praised the timing. "It's encouraging to see municipalities like Fundy Shores doing what municipalities should do: showing foresight, planning, and putting protections in place for residents before these developments arrive," he wrote, contrasting that with Saint John's approach of courting investment first.

If the amendment passes, Your Saint John reported, Fundy Shores would be the first municipality in the province to create its own data-centre regulations — a claim that sits beside other local freezes and pauses already in play in Grand Falls and Miramichi.

Nov. 17 hearing

The amendments are not yet law. Fundy Shores will hold a public hearing on Nov. 17. Cogswell said council then expects three readings, aiming to pass the by-law in the first week of December, or by January at the latest.

He stressed council is not ruling out hosting a centre later. "We are saying, 'let's take a step backwards. Let's pause for a little bit, gather all the information that we can, and then come back to do the assessments as needed,' but also come back to the community before you do all that and find their views and feelings on it."

Provincial policy is moving on a parallel track: the Holt government has ruled out a blanket ban while promising standards. Fundy Shores is betting that local zoning should still decide who builds next door.

Sources

• Your Saint John: Fundy Shores proposes rules for future data centre development (Katherine Del Salto, Oct. 30, 2026): rezoning requirement; temporary prohibition; Cogswell and council quotes; ten grid interests; Nov. 17 hearing; December/January passage target; first-municipality claim; Sibo Chen and Chris Watson quotes
• Rural Community of Fundy Shores: municipal website
• Sibo Chen faculty profile: Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Professional Communication
• George (Denny) Cogswell: Mayor, Rural Community of Fundy Shores (named on municipal site)
• Chris Watson faculty profile: Research Scientist, Physics, UNB; Save Lorneville advocate
• NB Tech News: Lorneville / VoltAgrid meeting: related Saint John-area data-centre coverage
• NB Tech News: NB Power data-centre queue: provincial interconnection interest
• NB Tech News: Grand Falls moratorium ask: municipal freeze request
• NB Tech News: Miramichi bylaw pause: municipal pause
• NB Tech News: provincial data-centre policy consultation: province rules out ban, plans limits