![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1777897274_727_default.jpg\")
In front of her home, Marnie Desjardins was emotional thinking about how life might change living next to ten 100-megawatt data centres and a 1,400-megawatt power plant. (Rukhsar Ali\/CBC)<\/p>\nMarnie Desjardins set down roots in Olds, Alta., a few years after moving to the town in 1986, eventually purchasing a home on the west side.<\/p>\n
The mature trees, interesting architecture and friendly neighbours are just some of her favourite parts of living in the agricultural hub, which is home to about 10,000 residents.<\/p>\n
But since January, her mostly quiet life has become upended, she said, after Synapse Data Center Inc. proposed a massive data centre project and accompanying natural gas plant right near her home.<\/p>\n
Now, she feels life as she knows it is at stake.<\/p>\n
In front of her home, Marnie Desjardins was emotional thinking about how life might change living next to ten 100-megawatt data centres and a 1,400-megawatt power plant. (Rukhsar Ali\/CBC)<\/p>\n
\u201cI really thought that I would be retiring here, and I certainly had a vision of what that was going to look like,\u201d she said, choking up on her front lawn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I’m not sure \u2026 if this were to go through at the scope and scale that it is being proposed at this point in time, I’m not sure if I would stay, which breaks my heart. It really, really does.\u201d<\/p>\n
Desjardins is one of several Olds residents who are deeply concerned about the health impacts that could come from living next to ten 100-megawatt data centres and a power plant with enough generating capacity to light up Edmonton.<\/p>\n
A local group called the Olds Transparency Project has recently banded together to raise awareness of the data centre project and to stop it in its tracks. On April 28, the group held a town hall to discuss its potential health impacts.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1777897275_59_default.jpg\")
Olds residents attend a town hall on April 28, with health care professionals speaking on the potential impacts of the data centre and power plant proposal. (Rukhsar Ali\/CBC)<\/p>\n
Janae Johnson, an Olds resident, mother to three young children and a member of the group, teared up thinking about what her kids\u2019 future might look like if the project goes ahead.<\/p>\n
Health impacts are at the top of her list of concerns, she said, citing potential noise pollution and emissions.<\/p>\n
Johnson said she\u2019s never advocated on this scale \u2014 or spoken to political leaders or the media for that matter \u2014 but now feels she has to.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a mom by day and a researcher and emailer by night,\u201d she said. \u201cThere hasn’t been a lot of interaction with the town … and the provincial government. We’ve raised a lot of concerns, but there just hasn’t been much feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1777897275_539_default.jpg\")
Olds resident Janae Johnson looks on at the packed town hall. She says this is the first time she’s advocated for anything on this scale. (Rukhsar Ali\/CBC)Documents, town halls and meetings<\/p>\n
The town, province and residents have hosted several town halls and meetings to get people up-to-speed on the proposal and process.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That means people who have never had to think about a project like this are trying to wrap their heads around the science and operations of data centres while diving into the complex world of provincial and federal policy \u2014 much of which hasn’t caught up<\/a> to this evolving technology.<\/p>\n \u201cI know more about AI data centres now than I ever wanted to know,\u201d said Karen Swanepoel, a resident who can see the site of the proposed data centre from her front yard.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not something that we set out to learn about, but it’s infuriating that a lot of people don’t understand why we don’t think the risk is fair.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s consuming my life. It really is, and I’m choosing that. I’m choosing that [because] it is important enough to me,\u201d said Desjardins.<\/p>\n She thinks the timelines are moving too fast.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there’s a lot of people that really don’t know how to have their voices heard. Not everybody uses computers. Not everybody is on Facebook,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The project was initially rejected by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC)<\/a>. Synapse is currently awaiting approval on its resubmission<\/a>. The AUC will hold an information session later in May and give residents the opportunity to participate in a hearing later this year.<\/p>\n To address concerns about public consultation deficiencies, Synapse also launched a website<\/a> answering questions about the project.<\/p>\n In a statement emailed to CBC News, Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish said Synapse\u2019s first application to the Alberta Utilities Commission “was inadequate and thus did not proceed. This is evidence of the process working.”<\/p>\n He added that data centre projects “must also meet requirements related to water, emissions, noise, and land use through multiple process[es]. Albertans can participate in those regulatory consultations and have their say.”<\/p>\n Organizing to be heard<\/p>\n Bradley Lafortune, executive director of Public Interest Alberta, a non-profit organization that advocates for various issues, said he\u2019s hearing from many people who are uncertain about data centre projects proposed near them.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don’t really know from the government or from companies that are planning to build them here what exactly they are and how much impact they will have on local communities,” he said.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are also wondering why is it that we’re charging ahead without any sort of AI or AI data centre legal framework in place. Alberta has no overarching legal framework for AI or AI data centres, nor does the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n The province has not required the Synapse data centre project<\/a> and Kevin O\u2019Leary\u2019s Wonder Valley<\/a> to do an environmental impact assessment.<\/p>\n Three other data centre proposals in Alberta (the Woodland Cree First Nation-led Mihta Askiy data centre<\/a> and Beacon AI Centers’ Heartland Project<\/a> and Indus Project<\/a>) are also not required to complete impact assessments, as decided by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.<\/p>\n Having spoken to residents in Olds and across Alberta, as well as people in Saskatchewan where a development agreement was approved for Bell Canada’s 300-megawatt AI data centre<\/a>, Lafortune said \u201cprovincial governments, so far, are not doing a diligent enough job in engaging with citizens and informing them about all of the aspects of these proposed projects.\u201d<\/p>\n Regina residents have rallied against<\/a> the proposed data centre project on the outskirts of the city.<\/p>\n![\"Synapse's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1777897276_602_default.jpg\")
Synapse’s data centre campus and power plant project is proposed to be located at the northeast corner of Highway 2A and 27 in the town of Olds, Alta. (Rukhsar Ali\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"Several](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1777897276_764_default.jpg\")
Residents participate in an April 28 town hall. (Rukhsar Ali\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1777897277_695_default.jpg\")
A town hall attendee looks at an information package put together by the Olds Transparency Project. (Rukhsar Ali\/CBC)<\/p>\n
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Farmer Wayne Shuttleworth presents his case against the Kineticor data centre complex plan to Rocky View County council. The proposed location would have bordered his land. (Helen Pike\/CBC)<\/p>\n