Hundreds voice opposition at Grande Prairie AI data centre town hall

Several hundred people attended a provincial government town hall in Grande Prairie on Sept. 11 to discuss proposed AI data centres, with many in the crowd voicing loud opposition and heckling officials. Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish faced repeated questions on whether Albertans could reject the projects, whether they would get an ownership stake, and what environmental and financial safeguards would be in place.

Attendees said they were unsatisfied with the answers. One woman, who declined to give her last name, said officials told residents to email their MLA rather than offering a vote, and argued that government decisions without a ballot do not amount to consent. Another attendee questioned the broader tradeoffs of the province's approach to social programs and services.

Glubish said closed-loop cooling systems used in data centres are built to last the life of a project and are not refilled annually. On accountability, he said the government supports a polluter-pay principle requiring companies to clean up pollution and cover property tax obligations they incur. He also defended the timing of consultations, noting 13 years of work has gone into the Greenview Industrial Gateway and that municipal zoning decisions rest with the MD of Greenview's elected council.

Questions also arose about Meta, which is planning a separate data centre near Edmonton. Glubish stressed that the Wonder Valley project proposed for the Greenview Industrial Gateway has not yet been approved. A developer previously said that project would use less than six million cubic metres of water annually. The Grande Prairie session was the last of four provincial town halls on AI data centres held across Alberta.