Canada brought in $1.62 billion in computers and computer peripherals in February, on a seasonally adjusted basis, up 41.4 per cent over the previous month, according to newly released trade data. Statistics Canada said servers coming from the U.S. drove the increase. (The Logic)

Talking point: The rise of artificial intelligence has driven significant demand for computing capacity from cloud service providers  in recent months, as startups launch new products and businesses test and roll out the technology. Amazon, Microsoft and Google—the so-called hyperscalers—are all adding to their Canadian infrastructure, as are firms that run datacenters on clients’ behalf. All those facilities must be filled with the servers and other hardware on which applications and AI tools run. February’s figures marked a turnaround, after imports of computers and peripherals had fallen 26.7 per cent from the April 2022 high of almost $1.57 billion.