Hundreds jeer Alberta minister at first data-centre town hall over water, power, and environmental impact

Alberta's technology minister faced a hostile crowd Wednesday night as he launched the first of a series of town halls promoting the province's plan to host massive artificial intelligence data centres.

Nate Glubish spoke to hundreds of residents in Lacombe, central Alberta, many of whom lined up to voice strong opposition. Not a single questioner offered endorsement. The room was packed with skepticism about both the projects and the government's ability to regulate them.

Craig Paterson, a lawyer from Ponoka, said he attended to weigh the pros and cons but left with more questions than answers. "On one hand, data centres can be a great asset. However, I'm concerned about the impact on water, power, and the overall quality of life in surrounding areas," he said. He noted the government provided little specificity about implementation. "There didn't seem to be a lot of clear design. It was general from that perspective but nothing specific."

Challen Gladman, coordinator at the Ponoka Adult Learning Centre and a local business owner, was unequivocal. "We are vehemently anti-AI data centre," she said. She argued the economic benefits would be temporary and fail to offset environmental risks. "There is no way to build an AI data centre that doesn't massively impact the environment and the community that it is in. Even the new technology that they claim to make it safer like the closed loop water system carry massive pollution charges."

Bek MacIntosh, a high-profile opponent of a proposed data centre in nearby Olds, called her community's eight-month fight against the facility "pure hell" and "psychological warfare." She pressed the minister on water impact, the issue she sees as most worrisome.

Glubish said an application to build a natural gas facility to power the proposed data centre complex in Olds was denied due to its proximity to a residential area. He apologized for the regulator's timeline and promised the government is developing specific setback rules to keep data centre sites far from residential areas. Premier Danielle Smith's government is looking at setback provisions, he said.

MacIntosh remained skeptical. "It's delightful to hear those words but absolutely useless after all these months," she said, noting Glubish avoided addressing water and other significant impacts. She said she has no confidence Olds is safe from future proposals.