![\"Kevin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775839928_322_default.jpg\")
Kevin O’Leary spoke with CBC News via video call while in the air on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Eagle Andersen\/CBC)<\/p>\nAlberta\u2019s government says it will not be conducting an environmental impact assessment for a data centre park being proposed by celebrity investor Kevin O\u2019Leary at a location about 40 kilometres south of Grande Prairie, Alta.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas says the Wonder Valley AI Data Centre Park project was reviewed by an independent approvals officer who deemed it exempt from the assessment due to its proposed use of standard power and water systems.<\/p>\n
Permits, however, are still required before construction can begin.<\/p>\n
\u201cWonder Valley must provide detailed technical assessments on impacts to air, land and water, and show the project can be built and operated safely,\u201d the minister\u2019s office said in a statement to CBC News. \u201cNo permit is granted unless those requirements are satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Leary \u2018bullish\u2019 on Wonder Valley<\/p>\n
Over a video call on Tuesday, O\u2019Leary told CBC News he is “bullish” on seeing his project through and he is currently awaiting that permitting to move forward.<\/p>\n
Kevin O’Leary spoke with CBC News via video call while in the air on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Eagle Andersen\/CBC)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe minute we get the permit, that triggers a whole bunch of other activities in terms of how we finance it, when we start engineering, design, everything else,\u201d he said of his proposed $70-billion, 7.5-gigawatt AI data centre campus.<\/p>\n
The project would be a partnership between O\u2019Leary Ventures and the Municipal District of Greenview and plans to develop it were first announced in December 2024.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Leary said recent conversations with Alberta government officials have been positive and he praised the region for its stable ground, access to water, fibre optic cable, natural gas reserves and cold winter temperatures \u2014 all beneficial resources when it comes to operating a data centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has all the elements required. It’s unique,\u201d he said of the region.<\/p>\n
The location for the proposed project, the Greenview Industrial Gateway, sits fairly empty, with a smattering of trees, electrical lines and paved road leading to the site.<\/p>\n
Ryan Ratzlaff, the reeve for the M.D. of Greenview, said he sees potential when he looks out into the open space slated\u00a0for industrial development.<\/p>\n
He said he estimates O\u2019Leary\u2019s project will have less of an environmental impact compared to previous proposed initiatives related to refining and transporting petroleum products.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re going to take natural gas and turn it into electricity which will get turned into data bytes that will get transported down fibre lines,\u201d Ratzlaff said.<\/p>\n
![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775839928_422_default.jpg\")
Ryan Ratzlaff is the reeve for the Municipal District of Greenview and hopes to see Wonder Valley constructed in the Greenview Industrial Gateway. (Eagle Andersen\/CBC)<\/p>\n
Although Ratzlaff said he is excited about the potential for job growth and economic and educational diversification in the region, he acknowledged that residents have mixed feelings about the project. He said he encourages concerned constituents to ask questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome and drive down this road. It’s not that far from Grand Prairie. \u2026 Take a look at the site, see the industrial activity that’s already out here,\u201d he said, explaining that he thinks Wonder Valley will add to the industrial corridor along Highway 40.<\/p>\n
Chief reserves judgment on project<\/p>\n
Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation Chief Sheldon Sunshine\u2019s community is nearby and he says he has his reservations about Wonder Valley, though he isn\u2019t necessarily opposed to the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s a lot of questions when it comes to data centres, especially this one,\u201d he said, referencing its scale. \u201cTo not have a provincial environmental assessment is just, it’s ludicrous.”<\/p>\n
Sunshine noted he still has questions about the project\u2019s potential\u00a0impact on water in the area.<\/p>\n
He said the First Nation hasn\u2019t determined whether it\u2019s in favour or opposed to the project because its leadership has had just two meetings about the development so far. He said they are currently analyzing the information provided to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet’s sit down early, have early engagement and develop some win-wins in some of these projects,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the province’s Minister of Indigenous Relations Rajan Sawhney said the province regularly meets with First Nations leadership on economic development opportunities.<\/p>\n
“Engagement with First Nations on this project is ongoing, and we will continue working together to explore opportunities that support long-term economic prosperity,” said Sawhney.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775839929_29_default.jpg\")
A map of the proposed AI data centre campus from O’Leary’s website. (O’Leary Ventures)<\/p>\n
University of Calgary law professor David Wright echoed some of Sunshine’s concerns regarding the assessment process.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s disappointing, but not surprising,\u201d he said, noting he\u2019s been seeing a decline in the number of environmental assessments at the federal and provincial level over the past nine months.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThe premise of environmental assessment is to see the big picture all in one place.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout that comprehensive process at the outset, \u2026 it’s going to be very difficult to understand what this project means in real costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wright said the importance of that larger bird\u2019s-eye view is crucial for projects like AI data centres because of their short history.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson from the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada said in a statement that once the agency receives a project description, they can determine whether a federal environmental impact assessment will be required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alberta\u2019s government says it will not be conducting an environmental impact assessment for a data centre park being…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":595149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-595148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}