Technology minister gets an earful at Lacombe data centre town hall

Technology minister gets an earful at Lacombe data centre town hall

Published 2:31 pm Thursday, August 20, 2026

Alberta Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish faced a hostile and sometimes jeering crowd at a Lacombe data centre town hall on Wednesday night.

The first of several town halls planned by the provincial government drew a crowd of more than 500 to Lacombe Memorial Centre, where Glubish and Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Jennifer Johnson took the stage.

In opening remarks, Glubish sought to dispel misconceptions about data centres, describing them as a “big warehouse full of computers.”

Glubish said a lack of private investment and resistance from other provinces have hindered Alberta’s efforts to expand the oil and gas industry and reach new global markets.

“In the meantime, we have an opportunity to build digital refineries and digital pipelines.

“There is a global demand for digital services. Every country needs it, but not every country has the electricity that can power that infrastructure. Not every jurisdiction is blessed with an abundance of natural gas and other energy resources. Alberta is blessed with that.

Linking data centres with Alberta’s oil and gas experiences was seen less a selling point than an indictment of the province’s oil and gas track record by some audience members.

Doug Hart, a former provincial NDP candidate in the Lacombe-Ponoka riding, pointed to Alberta’s 300,000 abandoned oilwells, $100 billion cleanup liability, along with $20 million in unpaid landowner compensation and $175 million in unpaid taxes (actually about $250 million).

“Why should Albertans have any more confidence in these high standards you talk about of regulation of AI than we did for the regulation of our oil industry given the conservatives 50-year history of bowing to their corporate donors.”

Glubish said those liabilities were built up over decades and he could not speak to the policies of government from 30 to 40 years ago.

“I can speak to what we are doing as a government today,” he said, adding the premier has been committing to tightening up oil and gas regulations and ensuring the polluter pay principle applies.

“In the same way, we are making sure we design our approach for data centres and their supporting power infrastructure to ensure that there’s a polluter pay principle.”

A Red Deer speaker said AI was designed to wipe out as many jobs as possible and concentrate power in as few hands as possible.

Glubish acknowledged delegating thinking to AI would weaken society and the technology used irresponsibly could lead to many problems in society.

That is why the Alberta government is committed to demonstrating what responsible regulation and use of AI looks like.

Olds residents’ recent data experience was brought up a number of times as an example of what is already going wrong with the regulatory process.

Bek MacIntosh, an outspoken opponent of Synapse Data Center Inc.’s data centre plans in her community, said residents went through “pure hell” and “psychological warfare” before the Alberta Utilities Commission rejected the company’s bid earlier this week to build a 1.4 gigawatt power plant near homes and businesses.

“The government failed epically at putting safeguards in place,” said MacIntosh, pointing out there are no setbacks in place and specific data centre regulations to protect communities.

In responding to similar questions later, Glubish called Synapse’s proposal an “obvious case of a bad location” and companies will have to make a case that their project sites make sense.

A second town hall was set for Sturgeon County on Aug. 20 and a virtual town hall with Glubish and the premier was set for Aug. 27.