Rejected Olds data centre project probes conversations about necessity of Alberta AI infrastructure development
By Eda Kamal, March 26 2026—
A now-rejected 10 billion dollar data centre project proposed in the town of Olds, Alberta, is cultivating discourse around the potential impacts of such developments. The Gauntlet interviewed Dr. Gideon Christian, an expert on the intersections of AI and law, on his views on the proposal.
The project, set to comprise 10 data centres and 10 power plants if it had been approved, was controversial among the citizens of Olds and proponents of AI development and technology in Alberta. If built, it would have been the largest data centre in Canada.
Those who oppose such significant AI development projects cite environmental concerns as one of their main issues with advancement of the technology. Canada as a country consumes significant amounts of electricity as compared to the rest of the world, and the Olds project would not have reduced that number in any terms — in fact, it would have produced over a gigawatt of electricity per day.
Not only is the environment a major concern when it comes to artificial intelligence, but the speed at which it is developing is creating concerns for obsolescence of the technology it uses, according to Christian.
“The hardwares that [would be] used as storage devices in this data centre will need to be changed frequently as better hardwares are developed … Not that they are out of function, but they are obsolete because you need something to store more data. So they have to be discarded because they are now technologically obsolete,” Christian said.
“Now, when they have to be discarded, the question then becomes: where are they gonna be discarded? …These devices are transported outside Canada to developing countries … of course, it has held an environmental impact on these communities in Africa and Asia, where this obsolete computer agrees item … so this is a problem that goes beyond, you know, this community. It also has its transnational impacts,” Christian said.
At a time when Canadians look to be increasingly self-sufficient on the resources available at home rather than sourcing them from the United States, Christian argues that local AI infrastructural development is an inevitability.
“[Data centres] will continue to be developed because we will continue to need them. They power artificial intelligence technology, and this is a technology that is here to stay … We need to have a holistic approach … identifying the environmental issues that come with these developments and incorporating remedial issues to those environmental problems as these projects are developed,” said Christian.
Although this specific data centre was not approved for development, several other projects are gaining traction throughout the country as Canadians rely more and more on artificial intelligence for work and leisure. Embedded into social media apps like Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter (X), Christian states it is important for those on all sides of the discourse to acknowledge that the rapidly developing technology isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“AI is here to stay … AI comes with a great deal of benefits. And also, of course, issues that arise with [those] benefits,” said Christian. “My advice, of course, is for students [to] develop an awareness of this environmental issue. And awareness of artificial intelligence technology … they will be moving into job markets where their skills in artificial intelligence will be very, very vital to be able to secure and keep a job. So, developing knowledge about artificial intelligence in their profession is very essential for them to still [be] relevant in the job market they’re going to be entering. Secondly, of course, being aware of the environmental impact that comes with artificial intelligence technology is also important so that they are able to help in addressing the environmental footprint of this innovative technology that is dramatically changing the way we live, work and play.”
Details on Alberta’s Artificial Intelligence Data Centres Strategy can be found on the provincial government’s website.