Asked to generate an image of a big AI data centre in Fort Macleod with translucent lines and dots coming out of it, Meta AI came up with this.
Alberta enters 2025 amid government assertions it can attract billions of bucks in high-tech investment in artificial intelligence data centres.
But does that translate into a future of buzzing AI buildings along country roads, busily spinning dollars into rural pockets, municipal tax rolls and Indigenous communities?
Along with a new government strategy, two announcements – one for northwest central Alberta, one for the south – suggest that the answer could be yes.
Wonder Valley, tied to celebrity entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary, envisions a $70-billion tech park of choice for AI data centres in the Municipal District of Greenview, about 350 kilometres northwest of Edmonton and near Grande Prairie.
The Wonder Valley news broke late last year, just days after the province published a strategy to make Alberta a new frontier for the centres.
Then late last week, the Pincher Creek area entered the AI mediascape in Canada, with reports that Gryphon Digital Media of Las Vegas has signed an agreement to buy a 344-hectare industrial site.
The project would use natural gas to generate power for an AI and high-performance-computing data centre.
Gryphon proponents say their project would feature up to four gigawatts of power generation, with around 130 megawatts onstream by the end of next year.
Also planned are on-site carbon capture and sequestration, the publicly traded company says.
Meanwhile, the government strategy asserts that a colder climate, low taxes, energy availability, Alberta know-how and continued red-tape reduction perfectly position the province to help meet a mushrooming demand for the data centres in a technology-dependent world.
The strategy doesn’t single out rural Alberta, but it does mention Indigenous involvement. “Alberta will prioritize economic reconciliation by promoting economic development opportunities and partnerships with Indigenous communities through programs like the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation,” it says.
“This approach will ensure inclusive growth and shared prosperity while strengthening the relationship between Alberta’s innovation ecosystem and Indigenous communities.”
Before either project had been announced, Nate Glubish, minister of technology and innovation, predicted in the legislative assembly that $100 billion or more of investment could be bound for Alberta.
Said Glubish on Dec. 4, the day the government published its strategy: “The world needs more Alberta energy, and that has never been more true than it is today.
One of the biggest obstacles that data centres face today is access to electricity at scale.
“I’ve got good news for them. Alberta is a world leader in responsible energy development; we have virtually limitless natural gas, and we have the know-how to develop it. We also have a cold weather climate with efficient cooling, which can be 15 per cent more effective than in warmer climates. Combine that with our pro-business, low-tax jurisdiction, (and) you can quickly see that Alberta is the best place to invest in this type of business.”
Alberta’s AI Data Centre Strategy: Powering the Future of Artificial Intelligence outlines how the government plans to blaze a trail for the data centres. At just eight pages long including graphics, the strategy points to three pillars in the government’s approach: power capacity, sustainable cooling and economic growth.
Already a powerhouse in machine intelligence research and innovation, Alberta is ready to help the world scale up and meet its potential in the emerging field, the strategy says.
Asked in the legislature whether the centres will threaten the grid, Glubish, the member for Strathcona-Sherwood Park, said: “Make no mistake. We will not do anything to compromise the affordability or reliability of Alberta’s electricity grid, and that is a promise.”
An open question appears to be, when do Indigenous communities and nations get involved in the strategy?
Wonder Valley has run afoul of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, whose chief last week said that the project contravenes constitutionally protected treaty rights, would interfere with the nation’s use of traditional territory, and could have dire environmental consequences. The nation was not consulted before the announcement, Chief Sheldon Sunshine said.
The news release from O’Leary Ventures does mention Indigenous involvement.
“One of our core values for the project is to engage with First Nations Indigenous communities to create a mutually beneficial relationship . . . that honours the people and the lands for many years to come,” the news release quotes Paul Palandjian, the company’s CEO, as saying.
Gryphon’s news release does not mention Indigenous consultation or rights.
Neither do stories that quote proponents, a Macleod Gazette search of coverage on Sunday suggests.
Brooks Arcand-Paul, the NDP’s Indigenous relations critic, said proponents of any project and the UCP need to be proactive with Indigenous communities.
“I think there are some nations that would benefit and would want to work in this area. But you can find those nations unless you are sitting down with them and doing what is required under the law, which is to consult,” Arcand told The Gazette.
The O’Leary project has already bungled its approach, he said, speaking just after Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation made its concerns public.
“Our entire history across this country has proven time and time again that when projects of this magnitude don’t include Indigenous consultation, they can be stalled indefinitely,” said Arcand-Paul, the member for Edmonton-West Henday.
Alberta’s Ministry of Technology and Innovation issued a statement that the government “understands how important it is for Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation to exercise their treaty rights and traditional uses now and into the future.”
The statement from press secretary Jonathan Gauthier continued: “We are committed to meaningful and thorough consultation with First Nations on projects where these rights may be affected, and Alberta’s government consistently meets its legal and constitutional duty to consult. The courts have upheld our consultation process.”
