Smith calls on data centre proponents to work with her government to avoid issues and public backlash

EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith spoke candidly about AI data centre projects on Thursday, saying issues with the proposed project in Olds show why proponents need to work with her government's concierge service."Now we've created a bunch of advocates who want to stop every single AI data supply project, and I don't think that that's what Albertans want, and I don't think that that's what's good for our province," said Smith when speaking at the Alberta Industrial Heartland Association conference on Thursday."But just be mindful that if you're backing a project that doesn't tick off the boxes that I mentioned, that's going to result in that kind of backlash. So let's work together and try to find the right place, mitigating the harms, and then I think we'll be able to put together more of them." .Smith made the comments while addressing the Alberta Utilities Commission's August decision to deny an application for a group to build a 1.4 gigawatt power plant intended for a proposed data centre in Olds. The commission rejected it after finding no reason to build the plant roughly 800 meters from 700 homes. Critics of Alberta's plans to become a hub for the data centre industry celebrated the decision, and some took it as a setback to the UCP's economic diversification strategy. Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish held a series of data centre town halls across the province in August, and he was met with spirited opposition at all of them. Many Albertans attended the event and expressed their concerns, and some even mixed profanity into their statements. Protests have also been held in areas across the province, most notably in Sturgeon County, where Meta Platforms intends to build a $13 billion data centre. The UCP, however, has said the decision proves the strategy works because it shows safeguards are in place to protect Albertans. .Led by Glubish, the UCP says it spent over two years analyzing plans and experiences from other jurisdictions to develop Alberta's AI data centre strategy and regulations. The UCP has said the AUC's decision in Olds proves the strategy works because it shows safeguards are in place to protect Albertans. "We didn't want to be first," said Glubish during an interview with the Western Standard in August. "We wanted to be the smartest." The strategy included creating a government concierge service to help proponents ensure their projects follow Alberta's regulations and are done safely. The Olds data centre proponent did not work with the concierge service. "So, I just would put that out there: it is pretty evident to us that there are some folks who are going out finding a patch of their farmland, saying, 'Hey, don't worry, I can get all the approvals read through on this, and then it's creating massive backlash in the communities," Smith said. "...And so I would just ask for those of you who are in that field to work with us because it doesn't help any of us to have the massive backlash that we saw." .Smith said some Albertans also have concerns about AI and the technology's expansion, and that these concerns must be eased. "We always have to make sure that they understand that AI is going to be used to help humanity, and there's many, many ways that AI can help humanity," Smith said. She gave an example of AI being used to help diagnose illnesses and advance health care technology. Some Albertans have also expressed privacy concerns surrounding the data centres. Although the facilities are supposedly large warehouses filled with computers, individuals fear they will be used to create a "surveillance state." "We have to demonstrate to them we're not going to use them that way," Smith said. "But I think if we can address those real concerns, legitimate concerns, acknowledge that they're legitimate, have the proper siting decisions.""My minister set a target of 200 billion dollars to be able to attract, and Meta doing $13 billion, we're on our way."

Smith calls on data centre proponents to work with her government to avoid issues and public backlash

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