About 40 Albertans protest data centre conference in Calgary over energy and environmental concerns

About 40 Albertans gathered outside the Hyatt Regency Calgary on Wednesday to protest a data centre conference hosted by the Western Canada Data Centre Alliance, raising concerns about power consumption, environmental impact, and community disruption.

The conference, which was closed to media, drew developers from across North America and covered energy consumption, community engagement for new facilities, and supply chain issues. Jenna Abbas, rally organizer with the Polluter Pay Federation, said the conference organizers appeared unaware of residents' concerns. "It is quite tone deaf in the sense that they don't seem to be aware of all of our concerns, like just, you know, normal Calgarians here from all different economic groups, all different racial backgrounds," Abbas told supporters. "There are so many concerns."

Protesters cited pollution driven by increased fossil fuel production, water contamination from underground disposal, and the acceleration of artificial intelligence as key worries. Data centre electricity demand is projected to double in five years—from 485 terawatt-hours globally in 2025 to 950 TWh within five years, according to the International Energy Agency. The Pembina Institute warns that this surge would drive up ordinary residents' electricity bills.

Noise has become a major concern. Residents in Chandler, Arizona complained of constant humming from a nearby data centre facility in 2025; the city council unanimously rejected a new data centre proposal. Protesters argue Alberta's increased electricity demand would push energy companies to bolster natural gas production.

The Alberta Utilities Commission has already denied one major proposal. In Olds, the commission rejected Synapse Real Estate Corp.'s application to build a natural gas-fired power plant for a $10 billion data centre complex after community objections about excessive noise, water use, and environmental impacts. The proposal had been rejected once earlier in 2026 for deficiencies in the application.

Meta unveiled plans in July for a data centre campus in Sturgeon County, roughly 35 kilometres north of Edmonton. The Sturgeon Data Centre will represent an investment of more than CA$13 billion and will be powered by a $4.6 billion gas-fired electricity plant being built by Pembina Pipeline and Kineticor Asset Management. The facility will span about 2.9 million square feet and is Meta's 33rd data centre globally, with most of its others in the United States. The project is estimated to create 3,000 construction jobs and support 300 operating jobs, though Meta said the precise start date has not yet been set.

"We really do need to take a step back and spend more time looking at the dangers here, so that's a big concern," Abbas said.