Premier Smith fields data centre concerns at virtual town hall with over 12,500 Albertans

Premier Danielle Smith and three of her ministers spent Thursday fielding calls and online questions from Albertans deeply concerned about artificial intelligence data centres being built in the province.

Over 12,500 people tuned in to the virtual event — far tamer than two in-person town halls held earlier this month where Technology Minister Nate Glubish faced criticism, profanity, and demands for stronger safeguards. Albertans who registered in advance could ask questions by phone; others submitted them online.

Water usage dominated the conversation. Smith's government has promoted a $13-billion Meta data centre campus north of Edmonton, saying it will have limited water consumption through a closed-loop cooling system with annual use equivalent to a golf course. But callers challenged that claim. One Calgary resident, David, pointed out the adjacent $4.6-billion natural gas power plant built solely to power Meta's facility will use "enormous amounts" of water — a detail the province has not accounted for in its estimates. Smith acknowledged the point but compared data centre water use to other heavy industries, citing a pulp mill in northern Alberta that uses seven billion litres annually.

Another caller, Peggy, asked why the province would risk bringing in more heavy water users when parts of Alberta have faced water restrictions in recent years. "It doesn't seem like a really smart, long-term idea," she said.

Job creation also came up. When asked whether Albertans would be prioritized for positions, Smith said that was the goal — and noted it's why her government scheduled an October 19 referendum asking voters whether Alberta should take more control over immigration and temporary foreign worker rules.

Smith's government has said the town halls are about finding "blind spots" in its regulatory framework. But notably, no caller expressed enthusiasm about having major computing complexes built in the province.