Moratorium on Alberta AI data centres

AI summary

Petitioners say proposed hyperscale AI data centres in Alberta, including the Wonder Valley and Synapse Olds projects, would consume large amounts of electricity and freshwater, rely on natural‑gas generation, and increase pressure on power grids and local resources. They say communities, municipalities and affected Indigenous nations have raised concerns about noise, air pollution, water use, inadequate consultation, risks to agriculture and ecosystems, and a public transfer of infrastructure costs and environmental risks. Petitioners call on the House of Commons to impose an immediate federal moratorium on approval, construction, expansion or operation of such centres in Alberta; to prohibit federal permits or support for fossil‑fuel‑powered or high‑water‑use facilities; to establish binding national environmental protections; and to require federal environmental assessments, public hearings and free, prior and informed consent from affected Indigenous nations and municipalities.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled Proposed hyperscale AI data centres in Alberta, including the Wonder Valley and Synapse Olds projects, would consume massive amounts of electricity and water, increasing pressure on power grids, freshwater supplies, and public infrastructure during drought, wildfire risk, and climate instability; Many proposed facilities would rely on natural-gas generation that could significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions and undermine Canada’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act; Communities including Olds and Indigenous nations affected by these projects have raised concerns regarding noise, air pollution, water consumption, inadequate consultation, threats to agriculture and ecosystems, and the transfer of infrastructure costs and environmental risks onto the public; We, the undersigned, People of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to immediately impose a federal moratorium on the approval, construction, expansion, or operation of proposed hyperscale AI data centres in Alberta, including the proposed Wonder Valley AI Data Centre Industrial Park and the proposed Synapse Data Centers Olds Project. 1. Prohibit federal permits, funding, tax incentives, loan guarantees, infrastructure support, or federal land and water access for AI data centres powered primarily by fossil fuels or requiring large-scale freshwater withdrawals; 2. Establish binding national environmental protections that permanently prohibit hyperscale AI data centres that would significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions, strain provincial electrical grids, consume unsustainable amounts of freshwater, or negatively impact surrounding communities, farmland, ecosystems, or Indigenous territories; and 3. Require mandatory federal environmental assessments, transparent public hearings, and free, prior, and informed consent from affected Indigenous nations and municipalities before any future AI data centre proposal may be considered in Alberta and in Canada.

Government response

No government response is available yet.