First Nation Demands Alberta Halt O’Leary’s $70B Data Centre Project

A First Nation in northern Alberta is telling the provincial government to “cease and desist” with plans for a C$70 billion artificial intelligence data centre proposed by celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary on its traditional territory.

On January 13, Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation wrote [pdf] an open letter to Premier Danielle Smith, stating it first learned about the proposed project—described by O’Leary Ventures as “the largest AI data centre industrial park in the world”—through [pdf] a press release.

O’Leary Ventures is collaborating with the Municipal District of Greenview to develop the data centre as part of the Greenview Industrial Gateway (GIG) in northwestern Alberta. It is meant tol be built on land the Nation shares with the Crown under a treaty agreement, Chief Sheldon Sunshine said [pdf] in a statement.

“Our people are here to remind Mr. O’Leary and Greenview of the international treaty, Treaty No. 8, that allows us all to share this land,” said Sunshine. “There is protocol. There are legal requirements. They are not being followed.”

O’Leary unveiled his project dubbed “Wonder Valley” with great fanfare and support from the premier, just days after Smith and Nate Glubish, minister for technology and innovation, announced their provincial AI Data Centre Strategy. Sunshine said band members were not consulted on that, either.

The strategy aims to attract data centres to the province by promoting “natural resources, competitive tax rates, and business-friendly regulatory environment.”

“There has been no consultation,” said Sunshine. “The way they act and talk; it’s as if our land and water is there for the taking, and we are expected to get in line to receive the so-called economic benefits.” 

The band says it is routinely consulted on projects in the area, and should have been consulted about this one, as the First Nation in closest proximity.

The letter raises concerns about statements made by O’Leary on Fox News [video] regarding project permits issued by the province. Greenview claims to have water licences and access to a “concierge program” offered by the government to help companies “navigate the regulatory framework.”

Jonathan Gauthier, press secretary to the Ministry of Technology and Innovation, told The Energy Mix in an email that Environment and Protected Areas (EPA) had issued Greenview a “preliminary certificate which will allow a Water Act licence to be issued in future, provided various mandatory conditions are met.” 

He emphasized that these conditions include “appropriate consultation with First Nations.”

Nigel Bankes, Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Calgary, explained to The Mix that a preliminary certificate (PC) can be considered “a promise that you will get a licence if you do the things specified in the PC.” 

Greenview spokesperson Wendy Unger said in an email that the municipality “followed all regulatory processes set out by the Province of Alberta, including meeting with the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation.”

“It is our belief that early engagement by the developer has commenced well in advance of any requisite consultation in the future,” Unger said.

O’Leary Ventures has not yet responded to The Mix’s emailed questions, but CEO Paul Palandjian said in their news release when the project was announced: “One of our core values for the project is to engage with First Nations Indigenous communities to create a mutually beneficial relationship and one that honours the people and the lands for many years to come.”

The ministry’s Gauthier noted in his January 14 email that “no applications have been submitted to EPA and no Water Act licence has been issued” in relation to O’Leary’s plans. But in a promotional video in early January, GIG Executive Director Kyle Reiling said that “right now we’re on a conditional master water license for 20 million cubes of water, and that equates to 0.2% of the flow rate of the Smoky (River).” 

“We advanced the full design of the outtake over the last four years, we’ve advanced where the storage is going to go and located on the GIG,” Reiling added.

Further preparatory work is under way, reports CBC News. Greenview Reeve Tyler Olsen told CBC’s Edmonton AM: “Over the past three to four years we’ve built a road into this area, we’ve acquired the land from the province, we’ve started water licencing to get the water there.” 

In his letter to Smith, Sturgeon Lake’s Chief requested a copy of any applications, permits, water licences, and related consultation records.  

“All projects of this scale require regulatory approvals and, in accordance with the Constitution and Treaty No. 8, they require consultation and accommodation with our Nation when they impact or could impact our traditional territory,” he said.

The First Nation also raised an alarm about the “sovereign wealth funds” O’Leary said he and Smith had visited to raise the $70 billion investment, noting “obvious issues with having foreign investors possibly owning an AI Data Centre.” They have asked for details on those meetings.

“Of concern to Sturgeon Lake, is the timing of this proposal, on the heels of Premier Smith being entertained by Donald Trump alongside O’Leary and the president-elect’s recent threats to annex Canada as the 51st State, also welcomed by O’Leary,” Sunshine added. Sturgeon Lake has given Smith a January 20 deadline to respond—the date of Trump’s inauguration.