Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Morinville, Alberta, on Sunday to protest Meta’s plan to build a massive artificial intelligence data centre in Sturgeon County, voicing concerns about its environmental impact, energy consumption and the growing role of AI.
The protest took place outside county offices after Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced last month that it intends to construct a one-gigawatt data centre, its first such facility in Canada. The project is expected to cost more than $13 billion and could become operational within the next two to three years.
Protesters carried signs and chanted slogans opposing large corporations, while passing motorists showed support by sounding their horns. One sign featured Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg alongside the message, “Expropriate The Billionaire.”
One of the event’s organizers, Ben Baril, a 20-year-old business student at the University of Alberta, said turnout exceeded expectations despite rainy weather and the long holiday weekend.
Baril said participants oppose not only the proposed Alberta project but also the broader expansion of large-scale AI data centres across Canada.
Local resident Jessica Tomashiro said she joined the demonstration because she fears that the growing number of planned data centres will place additional pressure on electricity and water resources, potentially increasing household utility bills.
Data centres require substantial computing infrastructure to power artificial intelligence applications and consume significant amounts of electricity and water for operating and cooling servers.
The Alberta government has actively promoted the province as a destination for hyperscale data centre investments through a dedicated concierge program designed to help technology companies navigate provincial regulations.
Premier Danielle Smith has said the province’s electrical grid will initially supply power to Meta’s facility until the planned Greenlight Electricity Centre, a natural gas-fired power plant, begins operating in 2030.
Smith has also stated that the facility’s water consumption will be comparable to that of a typical golf course and emphasized that it will use a closed-loop cooling system, allowing water to be recycled rather than continuously drawing from local sources.
Sturgeon County Mayor Alanna Hnatiw acknowledged residents’ concerns, saying public participation and strong regulatory oversight will be essential as AI infrastructure projects continue to expand.
She said community concerns about environmental protection, local resources and public accountability are legitimate and stressed the importance of establishing effective safeguards for future development.
Many protesters, however, said they remain unconvinced by assurances from either the provincial government or Meta.
Baril argued that while one natural gas plant is planned to support Meta’s project, there is no clear strategy for supplying electricity to the additional data centres Alberta hopes to attract before the end of the decade.
He also warned that expanding natural gas generation to support AI infrastructure could increase greenhouse gas emissions and worsen climate change.
His concerns echo findings from a recent United Nations University report, which concluded that the global environmental footprint of data centres now rivals that of some of the world’s largest countries.
Industry representatives say the environmental impact can be mitigated by incorporating sustainable design features, such as closed-loop water recycling systems and technologies that capture excess heat from servers for residential heating.
Protesters were concerned not only about environmental issues, but also about how artificial intelligence might impact jobs.
Baril said many young people fear AI could replace well-paying jobs and reduce future career opportunities.
Another participant, Emily Lachase, said she is concerned that growing reliance on AI may discourage creativity and critical thinking.
Gerry Hofs, a member of the advocacy group Seniors for Climate Action Now, said she opposed both the project itself and the transfer of Alberta’s natural resources to large foreign technology companies, arguing that public resources should not primarily benefit multinational corporations.
