Keesha Levesque
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
With data centres being a major point of interest across Saskatchewan, locals voiced their opposition at an anti-AI rally this past Sunday.
Almost 400 attendees gathered at Kinsmen Park to express their shared concern over the Bell AI Fabric data centre in the Rural Municipality of Sherwood and the potential development of a centre near Saskatoon. Their main worries included environmental pollution and community consultation.
Data centres house vast computer systems that store and process generated data daily. Their thousands of servers run on electricity primarily generated from fossil fuels.
The anti-AI rally was organized by the Red Bear Party, an advocacy street team based in Saskatoon that delivers aid to the unhoused community.
Thieb Milyon Deng, co-founder of the Red Bear Party and organizer of the rally, described the gathering as a communal voice of understanding.
“It’s easy to realize that your neighbours are suffering too on these plains. Their plight is our plight too,” Deng said during his opening speech.
According to the Government of Canada’s website, the Bell data centre involves the development of a 300-megawatt industrial centre on a 65-hectare agricultural site.
“Electricity for the project would be supplied through the provincial electrical grid,” reads the website.
While concerns about the Sherwood RM centre have been loud, Saskatoon residents now face potential development beside their city.
A plot of land across from the south-end Costco in Saskatoon was listed for lease at the end of June, and described as a potential location for a large, secure data centre.
This Wednesday, Saskatoon’s city council will host their regular business meeting at 9:30 am, and the agenda includes a motion from Councillor Scott Ford to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of developing AI data centres in the Saskatoon area.
While his motion considers data centres “an increasingly important part of the digital economy”, it also mentions that large-scale centres can create significant demands on electricity supply, water use, emergency services and transportation access.
Petitions at the rally called for a temporary moratorium on large-scale data centres in the province.
The petition called on the provincial government and municipal councils to temporarily prohibit the development of centres, develop a transparent public framework before approvals are considered and to ensure public and Indigenous consultation throughout the decision-making process.
Taya Fedorchuk, who gathered signatures at the rally, said her hope for the community is to feel inspired and active.
“I believe there’s a lot of power in the people, and I know that we have the numbers against these AI data centres,” said Fedorchuk.
Dilynn Keller, one of the rally speakers and a Regina resident, made the two-and-a-half hour drive to attend.
Keller runs an outreach project providing food and hygiene materials to unhoused individuals in Regina, and the project now features an initiative called No Data Centres on Treaty Land.
She said she made multiple Freedom of Information requests on where the wastewater from Bell data centre would be disposed, but that the information had been “blocked out.”
“For the last three months we’ve been trying to gain awareness for what our stance is, the information on what the data project actually is versus what they’re saying it is,” said Keller.
There are also voices in support of data centres in the province. Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce’s website describes Saskatchewan’s power generation as a key selling point for potential partners.
“The city has what it takes to capitalize on the next wave of Canadian data centre development,” reads the website.
Chamber CEO Jason Aebig was contacted for an interview but was unavailable for this story before deadline.
In a StarPhoenix story from late June, Aebig said: “A data centre is like a new highway to get ore from mine to market. The construction of that highway creates employment.
“But it’s the hundreds of good-paying jobs and millions in GDP from the mine that ultimately creates lasting impact and growth.”
With opinions varying across the province, the Wednesday city council meeting will discuss Saskatoon’s role in AI moving forward.
