Chief Sheldon Sunshine writes to Prime Minister Mark Carney about the draft cooperation agreement giving Alberta more responsibility for impact assessments.

In a “turnabout is fair play” move, he gives Carney until March 19 to respond.

The public (including First Nations) were given a deadline of March 27 to respond to the draft agreement.

“Canada’s proposal to defer to Alberta’s basically non-existent environmental impact assessment and rubber stamp regulatory review processes will have disastrous implications, and will be antithetical to the regulatory certainty your Government seeks…”

#ableg #cdnpoli #environment #Alberta #Indigenous #UNDRIP #FirstNations #elbowsup #wondervalleyAB #AIDatacentres #AIDataCenters

https://open.substack.com/pub/jodymacpherson/p/sturgeon-lake-cree-nation-writes?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer

"Beacon AI Centres, also known as Beacon Data Centres, contributed $1,500 to the UCP between July and September. In addition to Beacon’s in-house lobbyists, the company also hired Navigator to lobby the government regarding its data centre project. Navigator and two of its consultants representing Beacon contributed more than $3,600 to the party before September 2025.

In October 2025, Alberta’s government made an exemption to foreign land ownership regulations to allow the majority U.S.-owned Beacon to buy 8.8 square kilometres for the construction of five data centres."

Not to mention that Ken Hughes, former PC Minister of Energy for Alberta, is on the Beacon board of directors.

https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/03/12/PR-Firms-Lobbyists-Gave-UCP-Thousands-2025/

#AIDataCentres #ableg #cdnpoli

“We’re not a big city, we are a small town, and I don’t remember when we agreed as a small town to become a tech hub for the province or for our council. I just don’t remember that conversation happening.”

“I love Olds, it is a beautiful close-knit community, but there are no health benefits to living next to a power plant.”

A follow-up on the Olds data centre that has seen Premier Danielle Smith’s gas-powered data centre strategy encroach upon small town Alberta.

Meanwhile, I’ve just learned a protest against the Olds power plant and data centre is planned for March 23 in Calgary.

#AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #ableg #cdnpoli #AI #cdnpolitics

https://www.theenergymix.com/developer-presses-ahead-with-mega-gas-plant-after-alberta-regulator-rejects-deficient-plan/

$70 million. That’s how much the MD of Greenview has spent to develop the area where Wonder Valley is proposed.

GIG executive director Kyle Reiling told an audience at the Calgary Petroleum Club last Wednesday that the project is still “moving forward,” and recounted the journey so far.

Over the last decade, multiple councils backed effort to prepare the Greenview site for industrial projects, most recently betting it all on a gargantuan gas-powered AI data centre proposed by Kevin O’Leary.

But it started as a petrochemical hub, until that dream faded.

Read my latest report on the journey that Greenview has been on in pursuit of economic development opportunities for the region, as told by Reiling.

https://www.theenergymix.com/alberta-municipality-bets-tens-of-millions-on-wonder-valley-data-centre/

#WonderValleyAlberta #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #ableg #cdnpoli #AI #cdnpolitics

Premier Danielle Smith’s plans to double oil and gas production via data centres are hitting small town Alberta…very close to home.

The farming community of Olds, home to an agricultural college, a lot of retirees and others seeking peace and quiet, is about to become close neighbours with the second largest gas-powered plant in the province.

That’s 10 smokestacks (17 metres, 57 feet high) from a plant feeding the power needs of a massive data centre. Running 24/7 365 days per year, except when there’s an upset - and then there are 600 diesel generators ready to spring into action.

It’s a nightmare for some residents in the community who just learned details of the project in late January and are questioning the location so close to their homes.

https://www.theenergymix.com/200-metres-away-residents-rally-to-keep-albertas-second-largest-power-plant-out-of-their-their-backyard/

#ableg #cdnpoli #AIDataCentres #AIDataCenters #climate #democracy