"Most companies coming into Canada aren't a Yahoo or Google type of company," Cartier says. "We're seeing large, global co-locators with customers based in Europe and Asia who want to bring operations to North America but need regulations that protect the customer's privacy."

The recently released ranks Canada second out of 20 countries, with the United States No. 1. The report, produced by Cushman & Wakefield LLP and Hurleypalmerflatt, considered factors that are likely to affect successful data center operations. Canada got high scores for its low energy costs, political stability, bandwidth and ease of doing business. Factors such as cost of labor and inflation risks, while still favorable, scored lower.

Other data center trends-namely, energy efficiency and environmental impact-also suggest Canada might be a good location for a facility. Eddie Schutter, a member of the nonprofit industry consortium , points specifically to a favorable environmental climate that offers low taxes, low utility rates and economic incentives for green initiatives.

Green energy and free cooling, which is the process of using low air temperatures to chill water for cooling systems, are key factors in lowering data center operational costs. The most efficient and least expensive techniques use natural resources such as cool air and water, according to DCIE. This makes northern countries a natural choice for companies looking to set up new data centers.