A representative for a large industrial area northeast of Edmonton says he’s surprised by an apparent lack of support for artificial intelligence (AI) data centres from residents after a pair of central Alberta town halls held by the province. Mark Plamondon, the executive director of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association, says the negative reaction by some people who attended two such sessions in Lacombe on Wednesday and in Sturgeon County on Thursday “has been different than what we’ve seen.” Alberta technology minister Nate Glubish, who hosted the meetings, was met with profanity from the Thursday audience in Redwater. People lined up to the microphone to level their concerns and demand specifics on safeguards. Last month, tech giant Meta announced plans to build a $13-billion AI data centre project in the region that will ultimately be powered by a $4.6-billion natural gas-fired power plant. The next town hall on AI data centres will be held virtually by Glubish and Premier Danielle Smith. Another is slated to be held next month in Grande Prairie. Thursday’s event came one day after Glubish was met with jeers, badgering and boos during a town hall in the central Alberta town of Lacombe. Plamondon told CTV News Edmonton that support for industrial development in the community has been “strong” since he became involved with the association nine years ago. “At least in the time that I’ve been here, we’ve had very strong community support and social licence,” he said. “There’s a lot of continuous effort by the industry that operates here and with the municipalities to ensure that information is provided to the communities. “There is a collaborative effort to ensure there’s information flow about what’s happening in the industry out to the community.” Other speakers on Thursday expressed concern that local resources, such as water, land and electricity, might be sucked dry by the megaproject. Some were also skeptical about the promised jobs. Glubish said Meta’s project represents indirect economic benefits, and that 300 jobs are nothing to brush past. He told CTV News Edmonton in a statement on Friday that Alberta’s approach to the data centres is working, pointing out a rejection of a planned power plant for a proposed data centre in the southern town of Olds is proof that the province’s regulatory framework is working. The Strathcona-Sherwood Park MLA said in a statement Friday that the town halls will “help inform the province’s approach to future data centre development, including work underway to establish consistent, province-wide siting standards that keep large data centres away from residential neighbourhoods.” Plamondon also highlighted how Meta’s Sturgeon County has passed regulatory checkpoints. “From our view, the regulatory hurdles have all been met, and the regulatory approvals are in place,” he said. “The benefits to the region will be substantial, and responsible industrial growth in this region has accrued substantial benefits to the communities. We think that will continue going forward.” Opportunity for growth is also something Grande Prairie’s mayor hopes for with the conversation about the construction of data centres. “Technology is changing, and that opportunity only continues to grow for people,” Jackie Clayton told CTV News Edmonton, whose northwestern city of 71,000 will host its town hall on data centres on Sept. 11. “The reality of data centres is imminent. Alberta wanting to have that next large industrial investment is something that Alberta always looks forward to. We have always prided ourselves as a province of evolution, of industrial background, and really one of growth and opportunity.” Grande Prairie, the hub of the province’s Peace region, is 40 kilometres north of the Municipal District of Greenview, the site of the proposed $70-billion Wonder Valley AI Data Centre Park backed by Kevin O’Leary, a Canadian multi-millionaire and investor who ran an educational software company in the 1990s before becoming well-known on domestic and U.S. television shows such as reality show Dragon’s Den and The Lang and O’Leary Exchange. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Curtis Goodrum and The Canadian Press
