Moratorium on hyperscale AI data centres
Petitioners ask for a federal moratorium on hyperscale AI data centres in Alberta (including Wonder Valley and Synapse Olds), bar federal support for fossil‑fuel or high‑water sites, and require federal assessment and Indigenous consent.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would halt projects that petitioners say threaten freshwater supplies and stress local power grids, reducing immediate environmental and infrastructure risks.
- It would prevent federal support for fossil‑fuel‑powered centres, aiming to avoid significant greenhouse gas increases and uphold Canada’s climate commitments.
- It would require mandatory federal assessments and Indigenous consent, increasing transparency and ensuring community and ecosystem impacts are reviewed.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- A federal moratorium could displace economic opportunities and infrastructure investment for Alberta without weighing potential benefits like jobs or services.
- It may conflict with provincial authority over resource and land use, raising legal and practical challenges to implementation.
- A blanket moratorium could be broader than necessary; targeted standards or conditional approvals might address specific environmental and consultation concerns more precisely.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; 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.