Alberta's data centre push faces public skepticism in virtual town hall as water use dominates concerns

Premier Danielle Smith and three of her ministers fielded online questions and phone calls Thursday from Albertans worried about artificial intelligence data centres being built in the province, with water usage emerging as the dominant concern.

The virtual town hall, moderated by Primary Care Minister Justin Wright, drew over 12,500 participants and proved far calmer than two in-person events held earlier this month, where Technology Minister Nate Glubish faced repeated criticism, profanity, and demands for additional safeguards.

Smith's government has been positioning Alberta as an ideal destination for data centres, saying they could generate new jobs and billions in royalties and taxes. The town halls, Smith has said, are aimed at finding "blind spots" in the government's regulatory framework. But Thursday's callers expressed little enthusiasm for the projects themselves — one caller said he was excited to be on the call with "the premier and her entourage," but did not ask about data centres.

Water consumption dominated the discussion. Callers repeatedly questioned the government's claims that the $13-billion campus north of Edmonton proposed by tech giant Meta would have limited water use. The facility is to have a closed-loop cooling system, and both Meta and the government have said its annual water use would equal that of a golf course. But one caller from Calgary asked why the province wasn't accounting for water used by the adjacent $4.6-billion natural gas power plant, built solely to power Meta's facility. "They'll be using loads of water. I mean, enormous amounts," he said. Smith acknowledged the point but also noted that other heavy industries, including a pulp mill in northern Alberta she recently toured, use massive amounts of water — that mill uses seven billion litres per year. "We don't say that you're not allowed to use water at all," she said.

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

The issue of jobs also came up. When one caller asked whether Albertans would be prioritized for employment, Smith said that was the goal, adding it was why the referendum scheduled for October 19 will include questions about whether Alberta should take more control over immigration and temporary foreign worker rules. "That's certainly what I think should be done, and I want to make sure that Albertans agree with us on that," the premier said.