Manitoba to use tax on data centres and crypto miners to lower hydro rates

The Manitoba government announced on Oct. 19, 2026, that it will use revenue collected from a targeted tax on cryptocurrency mining and commercial data centres to reduce electricity bills for households and small businesses across the province.

Provincial Finance Minister Adrien Sala said the government projects the levy could generate up to $20 million in revenue. The funds will be placed into utility rate relief accounts to subsidize Manitoba Hydro bills, cutting residential electricity costs by roughly $50 annually beginning early next year.

The surtax targets energy-intensive commercial facilities that consume large amounts of power from Manitoba Hydro, the provincial utility known for supplying low-cost hydroelectric power. The policy requires Manitoba Hydro to create specific customer classifications for high-density power consumers, imposing a 100 percent rate markup on cryptocurrency operations and data centres with capacity exceeding 5 megawatts.

In a statement, Sala said the provincial administration is focused on making life more affordable for Manitobans while keeping hydro rates low for families. He noted that large facilities consume significant amounts of electricity and should contribute fairly to maintaining the shared electrical grid.

The tax was passed into law last summer and came into effect in June. However, Manitoba currently has no operational data centres large enough to hit the 5-megawatt threshold, according to BetaKit. The only facility currently in development that would qualify is a proposed 5.5-megawatt data centre near Rosser, Manitoba.

Because there are no large operating data centres subject to the rate markup yet, the province expects initial tax revenue to be generated almost entirely by cryptocurrency mining operations. Representatives from the cryptocurrency sector warned earlier this year that doubling electricity rates could effectively shut down crypto operations in the province.

Industry groups have also raised concerns that the targeted tax structure could divert future data infrastructure investments to competing Canadian provinces that are actively courting high-density facilities. The provincial government plans to table regulatory guidelines and finalized rate schedules in upcoming documents for the 2026-2027 budget cycle.