The October 3 rally at the Alberta Legislature
On Saturday, October 3, 2026, people gathered on the steps of the Alberta Legislature as part of a North American day of protest against AI data centres, with rallies in Calgary, Lethbridge and Grande Prairie as well[41]. Alberta Native News and Global News reported more than 100 people[39][40].
Speakers included Chief Sheldon Sunshine of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, Elder Taz Bouchier and MP Heather McPherson. According to Alberta Native News, Chief Sunshine pointed to the 7.5-gigawatt Wonder Valley project near Grande Prairie, where a 24-million-cubic-metre water licence was awarded to the Municipal District of Greenview and Treaty 8 First Nations were not consulted[39].
The ask was plain: pause new approvals, assess before approving, and talk to the people affected. The Joyful Dinos were there, and read the manifesto. The video below is that reading; the full text follows.
The Joyful Dino Manifesto
AI Data Centre Edition · Web · v8
Issued by the Ancient and Honourable Order of Inflatable Dinosaurs, Edmonton Chapter
Alberta Legislature · Saturday, October 3, 2026, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
Standing with the organizers: six asks on AI data centres in Alberta
Revised after the presentation. This web edition (v8, Oct 7, 2026) was revised after the Oct 3 event at the Alberta Legislature. Changes are described in the Revision Notes at the end of this page.
— WE ARE ALL TREATY PEOPLE —
We gather on the traditional territory of Treaty 6 and Métis Nation of Alberta Region 4.
The treaties were not signed with a county, or with Meta, or with any company. They were sacred covenants between First Nations and the Crown, made to last, in the words spoken at every negotiation, as long as the sun shines, the rivers flow, and the grass grows.
Read that again. As long as the rivers flow.
When settlers arrived, they became new relatives through treaty. Not conquerors. Not owners. Relatives, with rights, yes, but also with responsibilities: to share the land, to protect the water, and to leave the rivers flowing and the grass growing for the generations to come. That responsibility does not pause for a construction permit.[38]
— WE ARE VERY OLD —
We, the Joyful Dinos, are very old. We have seen ice ages, mass extinctions, and continental drift. We have outlasted every empire and every government that decided it knew better than the people it was supposed to serve.
So we know what it looks like when land gets called empty right before something enormous gets built on top of it.
We are not against technology. We are not against investment in Alberta. We know the difference between a plan and a pattern. In July, Meta announced a C$13-billion, one-gigawatt data centre on 1,750 acres in Sturgeon County[1][3]. It is one of dozens proposed across the province. Today we stand with the organizers of this gathering and ask for six things.
— SIX THINGS WE ASK —
1. Press pause: a moratorium on new AI data-centre approvals
We are dinosaurs. We know what a rationed grid looks like. Alberta’s own system operator has said it cannot connect every data centre lining up at the door: 29 large-load projects, more than 16 gigawatts of demand, and an interim cap of 1,200 megawatts[5]. Rocky View County has already voted to pause new data-centre applications until its rules are written[8]. The Official Opposition has called for a freeze[11][12]. Pause first. Plan second. Approve third.
You are not alone. Texas has paused approvals for about 300 of its largest data-centre projects while regulators audit their water and power use[25]. New York has paused hyperscale permits for up to a year while it studies energy, water and air impacts[26]. Seattle, Denver and Cedar Hill, Tennessee have paused too[27][28]. Lawmakers in 14 states are weighing pauses[27], and the federal NDP is asking for a national one[29]. Not every attempt succeeds: Maine’s legislature passed a pause and the governor vetoed it[28]. But the direction is clear. Alberta can pause too. Even the province’s own regulator said no in August to a 1.4-gigawatt power plant for a data centre in Olds, ruling the site too close to the community[35].
2. Open the doors: real engagement before decisions, not after
We are dinosaurs. We know a closed door when we see one. The province announced town halls only after the Meta announcement, and the Premier took questions at a virtual one in late August[10][11]. Asking after the decision is not engagement. Residents deserve to understand what is being considered in their own communities, in plain language, before anything is signed.
3. Show us the benefit, Albertans first
We are dinosaurs. We know a jobs number when we see one. The headline is thousands of jobs. The project’s own figures are about 3,000 construction jobs and about 300 permanent ones[30][2]. For a C$13-billion campus, that is roughly 300 lasting jobs. How many go to Albertans? For how many years? And weigh it against the cost: Meta says the data centre could be running in two to three years[1]. The gas plant meant to power it, the 932-megawatt Greenlight centre, is not due until the second half of 2030[30][4]. The Premier says surplus grid power will cover the gap[31]. Show us the numbers.
4. Model the climate before the concrete, and plan the ending
We are dinosaurs. We know about short lives. The machines inside an AI data centre can run physically for five years or more, but at the pace new chips arrive, an industry publication puts their useful economic life at two to four years[13]. The campus is planned for decades. The hardware may be obsolete in a few. The concrete lasts longer than the chips.
And we know what a mess left behind looks like. Alberta has 7,382 orphan wells waiting to be decommissioned and 9,148 sites to reclaim, with cleanup estimated at C$1.66 billion, up 50 percent in a year and the highest since tracking began in 2002[9]. The Premier says Alberta “has decommissioning plans”[31]. Show us the plan for data centres, in writing, before approval. Do not let the data-centre boom write the sequel.
5. Count the water, the watershed, and the whole pile
We are dinosaurs. We know that rivers do not stop at property lines. A United Nations University report projects that by 2030 the water footprint of AI infrastructure could reach an estimated 9.3 trillion litres, enough to meet the drinking-water needs of the global population for about 1.6 years[6]. Meta and the Premier say the Sturgeon campus will use closed-loop cooling and about as much water as a golf course[30][31]. If so, put it in writing. And Meta’s single campus may not be the thirstiest. That is not the same as saying the cumulative cost of dozens like it has been honestly counted.
6. Respect the people who were here first, and the people who are here now
It is not publicly known whether First Nations were properly consulted on the Sturgeon project, even though treaty, not the location of a nearby reserve, determines the duty to consult. At Wonder Valley near Grande Prairie, Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation has asked for a full federal assessment of the environmental impact[7]. That is a different Sturgeon and a different project, but the same question: who was asked, and when?
And we see the families still farming beside these sites. You were here first, and you deserve to be heard.
— AND NOW IT IS INSIDE THE CITY —
While the world watched Sturgeon County, a second proposal arrived at Edmonton City Hall. On July 6, two days before Meta’s announcement, the City received an application from Stantec on behalf of Walton Global Investments, an Arizona land company. It would redesignate 253 hectares, about 625 acres, of mostly farmland in the Edmonton Energy and Technology Park, north of the Anthony Henday and west of Manning Drive, so that data centres and power generation can be built there[32][33][34]. Public comment opened on September 28[32].
We are dinosaurs. We know a blank cheque when we see one. Walton is a land company, not a tech company. No operator has been named. No power demand, water use or job numbers have been published. The park’s plan, approved in 2010, did not contemplate data centres[34]. And the grid is reportedly already spoken for: the provincial cap of 1,200 megawatts is said to be allocated to Meta (970 MW) and TransAlta (230 MW)[37]. The province’s answer is that projects must bring their own power[36]. In plain words: gas plants.
What you can do: feedback is open until October 25. You can question the City’s planners, comment online, and register to speak at the public hearing, whose date is not yet set[32]. And on October 6, Councillor Ashley Salvador is bringing a motion asking for a report on regulating and restricting large-scale data centres, including land use and environmental impacts[33].
— WHO HOLDS THE KEY? —
We are dinosaurs. We know a tractor when we see one. In the spring of 2022, Russian soldiers stole twenty-seven pieces of John Deere equipment, nearly US$5 million’s worth, from a dealership in occupied Ukraine and hauled some of it more than seven hundred miles to Chechnya. The harvesters would not start. They had been locked from far away[15][16].
Good for Ukraine. But a lock that can stop a thief has a key, and the person holding the key is not always the person who bought the machine.
We are dinosaurs. We know a lock when we see one. In 2012, Canada passed Bill C-11, making it unlawful to pick a digital lock even when no one’s copyright is at risk[19]. Thousands of Canadians objected in the government’s own consultation[17]. A federal minister had called critics of the earlier bill “radical extremists”[18]. The law passed anyway.
We are dinosaurs. We admire young developers. In 2022, two young founders built a version of Instagram with the ads taken out. Apple pulled it from the App Store, citing Meta’s rules[20][21]. That is the same Meta now building a one-gigawatt campus in Sturgeon County.
We are dinosaurs. We know who holds the key to Ottawa’s inbox. The federal public service runs on Microsoft 365[22]. In 2025, after US sanctions, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor lost access to his Microsoft email; Microsoft says it disconnected a sanctioned individual and did not cut off the court[23][24]. Whatever the fine print, the lesson is plain: when your tools live in someone else’s building, someone else can lock the door.
We are not against technology. We are for knowing who holds the key.
— WE DID NOT GO EXTINCT —
We did not go extinct because Alberta welcomed investment.
We did not go extinct because a company built something big.
We did not go extinct because a family kept farming next to a construction site.
We went extinct because nobody added up the cumulative cost until it was too late to matter.
Dozens of data centre proposals. Multiple new gas plants. One overstretched grid. No cumulative review. That is not a strategy. That is a pattern, and Dinos know exactly how patterns like this end.
— TODAY —
Hundreds of people stood in front of the Sturgeon County office in Morinville on August 2, and the province has since held town halls[10]. Showing up matters. Keep going.
Democracy is not something you do every few years with a ballot. Voting is the last step of a long walk, and the walk is made of people showing up. A Dino in a field is small-p politics with a tail[14].
To the families still farming this land: we see you. To Sturgeon County and Morinville: you are not against the future. You are asking, reasonably, what dozens of data centres and multiple new gas plants add up to. To every Albertan: you still have time to ask before the answer is poured in concrete.
Pause. Open the doors. Prove the benefit. Model the climate. Count the water. Respect the people.
We outlasted the asteroid. We can outlast a spreadsheet.
Defenders of Farmland, Water, the Grid, and the Generally Liveable,
— The Joyful Dinos, Edmonton Chapter, 2026
🦕 Text 780-710-2675 · #JoyfulDinos · #AlbertaIsCanada · #SturgeonCounty · #yeg 🦕
Sources & References
Bracketed numbers in the text match this list. “Secondary” marks summaries; check originals before quoting formally.
- Meta to build $13B data centre north of Edmonton, its first in Canada, Canadian Press, July 8, 2026. nationalnewswatch.com/2026/07/08/meta-to-build-13b-data-centre-north-of-edmonton-its-first-in-canada
- Meta Plans Sturgeon County, Alberta, Canada, Data Center Operations, Area Development, July 17, 2026. www.areadevelopment.com/newsItems/7-17-2026/meta-sturgeon-county-alberta-canada.shtml
- Globe says Meta plans first Canadian AI data centre, Stockwatch summary of The Globe and Mail, July 9, 2026 (secondary). www.stockwatch.com/News/Item/Z-C!T-3839795/C/T
- Meta data centre north of Edmonton to start up ahead of adjacent Greenlight power plant, CTV/BNN, July 10, 2026. www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/article/meta-data-centre-north-of-edmonton-to-start-up-ahead-of-adjacent-greenlight-power-plant/
- AESO, interim approach to large-load connections (29 projects, over 16 GW, 1,200 MW cap through 2028), announced June 4, 2025. aeso.ca/aeso/newsroom/aeso-announces-interim-approach-to-large-load-connections/
- UN University (UNU-INWEH), Environmental Cost of AI’s Energy Use: Carbon, Water and Land Footprints, June 4, 2026, as reported by Water Magazine. www.watermagazine.co.uk/2026/06/04/un-report-warns-ais-hidden-water-footprint-could-rival-global-drinking-water-needs/
- First Nation calls for federal review of Wonder Valley AI project (Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation), CTV News, June 4, 2026. www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/article/first-nation-calls-for-federal-review-of-wonder-valley-ai-project/
- Rocky View County data centre concerns / moratorium vote, Global News, July 2026. globalnews.ca/news/11997126/rocky-view-county-data-centre-concerns-moritorium/
- Alberta orphan well cleanup costs hit record, The Narwhal, Aug 17, 2026. thenarwhal.ca/alberta-orphan-wells-cleanup-costs-record-2026/
- Alberta man planning protests against data centres as province announces town halls, Castanet, Aug 2026. www.castanetkamloops.net/news/Alberta/627735/Alberta-man-planning-protests-against-data-centres-as-province-announces-town-halls
- Alberta’s Smith takes questions at less rowdy AI town hall; NDP calls for freeze, CP24, Aug 28, 2026. www.cp24.com/news/canada/2026/08/28/albertas-smith-takes-questions-at-less-rowdy-ai-town-hall-ndp-calls-for-freeze/
- Alberta NDP calls for pause on AI data centres, Alberta NDP caucus. www.albertandpcaucus.ca/news/post/alberta-ndp-calls-for-pause-on-ai-data-centres
- GPU Lifespan in Data Centers: Physical vs. Economic, Data Center Knowledge. www.datacenterknowledge.com/data-center-chips/gpu-lifespan-in-data-centers-physical-vs-economic
- Cory Doctorow, Voting is to politics as shopping is to boycotts, Pluralistic, Oct 1, 2026. pluralistic.net/2026/10/01/data-centers/
- Ukrainian dealership remotely disables stolen farm equipment, Farm Equipment (summarizing CNN, May 1, 2022). farm-equipment.com/articles/20346-ukrainian-dealership-remotely-disables-stolen-farm-equipment
- John Deere tractors bricked after Russia steals machinery from Ukraine, The Register, May 2, 2022. www.theregister.com/2022/05/02/ukrainian_tractors_deere/
- Michael Geist, the 10,000 consultation on copyright (May 2012). www.michaelgeist.ca/2012/05/10k-consultation-on-copyright/
- Bill C-32: An Act to amend the Copyright Act, Wikipedia (Moore remarks, June 22, 2010; secondary). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_C-32:_An_Act_to_amend_the_Copyright_Act
- Copyright Act (Canada), Wikipedia (history of Bills C-60, C-61, C-32, C-11; secondary). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Act_(Canada)
- Apple Pulls OG App, an ad-free version of Instagram, iPhone in Canada, Sept 29, 2022. www.iphoneincanada.ca/2022/09/29/apple-pulls-og-app-an-ad-free-version-of-instagram-from-app-store/
- Apple removed The OG App from the App Store, TechCrunch. techcrunch.com/?p=2411889
- Shared Services Canada, Government of Canada enables a more modern and accessible Public Service. www.canada.ca/en/shared-services/corporate/publications/enables-modern-accessible-service.html
- Trump’s sanctions on ICC prosecutor have halted tribunal’s work, AP, May 15, 2025 (Boston Globe copy). www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/15/world/trumps-sanctions-icc-prosecutor-have-halted-tribun
- Microsoft denies mail blockade at the International Criminal Court, heise online. heise.de/-10429628
- Texas pauses data center approvals for statewide audit (Gov. Abbott, Aug 3, 2026), Jones Day. www.jonesday.com/de/insights/2026/08/texas-pauses-data-center-approvals-for-statewide-audit-stops-short-of-ban
- Behind the New York data center pause (Executive Order 62, July 14, 2026), Facilities Dive. www.facilitiesdive.com/news/behind-the-new-york-data-center-pause-is-legislation-that-could-impact-exis/826260/
- Data center moratoriums gain ground in states and cities (Seattle; bills in 14 states), Route Fifty, June 2026. www.route-fifty.com/artificial-intelligence/2026/06/data-center-moratoriums-gain-ground-states-and-cities/414090/
- Where have Americans hit pause on new data centers? (Denver; Cedar Hill, TN; Maine veto), PIRG. pirg.org/articles/where-have-americans-hit-pause-on-new-data-centers/
- New York halts new hyperscale data centres as federal NDP pushes for Canadian moratorium, The Hub, July 20, 2026. thehub.ca/2026/07/20/new-york-halts-new-hyperscale-data-centres-as-federal-ndp-pushes-for-canadian-moratorium/
- Meta to build $13B data centre north of Edmonton: water, power logistics unveiled (3,000 construction / 300 operational jobs; Greenlight 932 MW, 2H 2030), CP24, July 9, 2026. www.cp24.com/news/canada/2026/07/09/county-north-of-edmonton-says-13b-meta-data-centre-is-welcome-as-water-power-logistics-unveiled/
- Alberta premier offers reassurances on massive Meta data centre during radio show, CP24, July 11, 2026. www.cp24.com/news/canada/2026/07/11/alberta-premier-offers-reassurances-on-massive-meta-data-centre-during-radio-show/
- City of Edmonton, LDA26-0225 Edmonton Energy & Technology Park AI Data Centre Amendment (application received July 6, 2026; feedback Sept 28 to Oct 25, 2026). engaged.edmonton.ca/eetpdatacentre
- Data centre campus proposed in northeast Edmonton, Taproot Edmonton, Sept 30, 2026. edmonton.taproot.news/news/2026/09/30/data-centre-campus-proposed-in-northeast-edmonton
- Walton seeks to open 625 Edmonton acres to data centres, Connect CRE Canada. www.connectcre.ca/stories/walton-seeks-to-open-625-edmonton-acres-to-data-centres/
- Alberta Utilities Commission rejects power plant for Olds data centre plan, CP24, Aug 17, 2026. www.cp24.com/news/canada/2026/08/17/alberta-utilities-commission-rejects-power-plant-for-olds-alta-data-centre-plan/
- Government of Alberta, AI Data Centres in Alberta (bring-your-own-power policy; levy; water licensing). www.alberta.ca/datacentres/index.html
- Northeast Edmonton could become one of North America’s largest data centre districts, Culture Alberta, Oct 1, 2026 (secondary; grid-allocation figures not independently confirmed). www.culturealberta.com/articles/northeast-edmonton-could-become-one-of-north-americas-largest-data-centre-districts
- Joyful Dinos, The Joyful Dino Manifesto, Sturgeon County Edition, v4, Aug 2, 2026 (project file; Treaty 6 / Métis section drawn from an interview with Phyllis Kelly, St. Albert Métis District).
- Anti-data centre rally in Edmonton emphasizes Indigenous rights, Alberta Native News, Oct 6, 2026 (reports more than 100 people; speakers Chief Sheldon Sunshine, Elder Taz Bouchier, MP Heather McPherson; Wonder Valley 7.5 GW, 24 million m³ licence to MD of Greenview, no Treaty 8 consultation). Dates the rally Oct 4; other outlets date it Oct 3. albertanativenews.com
- Protest against proposed Alberta data centres held at Legislature, Global News, Oct 3, 2026 (over 100 protesters; co-organizer Melissa Waddell). globalnews.ca
- Group rallies against data centres in North American Day of Protest, Canadian Press via Yahoo News Canada, Oct 3, 2026 (coordinated rallies in Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie). ca.news.yahoo.com
Revision Notes
This document was revised after the Oct 3, 2026 presentation at the Alberta Legislature. The version delivered before the event was v2 (Oct 3); v3 to v8 are post-event revisions. Version history for this document:
| Version | Date | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| v1 | Oct 3 | First full draft. Built from the Aug 2 Sturgeon County manifesto (v4) plus the organizers’ six key messages and Cory Doctorow’s Sept 28 Edmonton talk (“Who Holds the Key?”, chip lifespan, democracy line). Re-verified AESO, Greenlight and UN University figures; dropped four unconfirmed claims from the Aug 2 text. |
| v2 | Oct 3 | Added venue and time (Alberta Legislature, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.). Corrected the Morinville line to “hundreds of people in front of the Sturgeon County office.” Removed the unconfirmed 5–2 vote count for Rocky View County. Added “You are not alone” under ask 1: pauses in Texas, New York, Seattle, Denver and Cedar Hill, TN; bills in 14 states; the federal NDP call; Maine’s vetoed pause. Sources 25 to 30. |
| v3 | Oct 4 | Post-event. Added a section on the proposal inside Edmonton (Walton Global, 253 ha in the Energy and Technology Park, feedback open to Oct 25, Councillor Salvador’s Oct 6 motion) and a new ask for Edmonton council. Corrected the jobs figure: about 3,000 construction jobs and about 300 permanent ones, replacing the earlier framing of “300 versus thousands” as a contradiction. Updated power timing (Greenlight 932 MW, second half of 2030; Premier says surplus grid power covers the gap). Attributed the closed-loop cooling and golf-course water claim to Meta and the Premier. Added the Premier’s “decommissioning plans” remark and the Aug 17 AUC rejection of the Olds power plant. Sources 30 to 38. |
| v4 | Oct 4 | Post-event. Added the “revised after the presentation” notice on page 1 and these Revision Notes. No change to the text of the manifesto. |
| v5 | Oct 7 | Post-event. Web edition. Reformatted for the website. Added an introduction about the Oct 3 rally at the Alberta Legislature, with the crowd given as reported by Alberta Native News and Global News (more than 100), plus an estimate of at least 200 by the Joyful Dinos who attended (removed in v6), and Alberta Native News’s reporting on Wonder Valley (7.5 GW; 24 million m³ licence; no Treaty 8 consultation), attributed to that outlet. Sources 38 to 41. The six asks and all other manifesto text are unchanged from v4. The downloadable PDF is v4. |
| v6 | Oct 7 | Post-event. Web edition. Removed the “at least 200” crowd estimate; the crowd is now given only as reported by Alberta Native News and Global News (more than 100). Rewrote the closing note on unconfirmed items in plain language, with how each could be checked. No other change to the manifesto text. |
| v7 | Oct 7 | Post-event. Web edition. Added a link to the photo post from the Oct 3 rally, and an embedded video of the Joyful Dinos’ reading of the manifesto at the Alberta Legislature. No change to the manifesto text. |
| v8 | Oct 7 | Post-event. Web edition. The separate photo post was merged into this page: the photo grid and the captioned photo now sit at the top, and the dance video and recap are kept below the manifesto. Removed the links to the separate photo post and to the draft manifesto post, and added alt text to the photos. Cleaned the video links. Corrected the web address for source 3 (Stockwatch). No change to the manifesto text. |
What we could not confirm, and how it could be checked
These points are written in the manifesto as asks or as attributed claims, not as established facts.
- NDAs and in-camera decisions. We do not claim these exist; the manifesto asks that none be used. What is documented is that announcements and decisions came before public consultation: Meta’s July 8 announcement came before the province’s town halls [10], and Alberta Native News reports that Wonder Valley’s water licence was awarded, and the project exempted from environmental assessment, without consulting Treaty 8 First Nations [39]. To find out whether NDAs or in-camera sessions were used: file a request under Alberta’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, read council minutes (in-camera items are listed there), and check the lobbyist registry.
- Decommissioning. We found no published decommissioning requirement for data centres. The Premier says Alberta “has decommissioning plans” [31]. The ask is that the plan be shown in writing. To check, ask the Ministry of Technology and Innovation and the Alberta Utilities Commission which rules apply.
- Edmonton grid allocation. The 1,200 MW interim cap is on AESO’s own page [5]. The claim that it is already fully allocated to Meta (970 MW) and TransAlta (230 MW) comes from one secondary article [37], and we did not find it on AESO’s page, so the manifesto says “reportedly”. To check, ask AESO or look for its large-load updates.
- The water claim. This is Meta’s and the Premier’s own statement [30][31], attributed to them in the text, and we cannot verify it ourselves. The ask is that it be put in writing. To check, the project’s water licence and its development and power-plant applications are public records.
On Saturday, October 3, more than 100 people gathered on the steps of the Alberta Legislature as part of a North American day of protest against AI data centres, with rallies in Calgary, Lethbridge and Grande Prairie too. Speakers included Chief Sheldon Sunshine of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, who said the province granted Wonder Valley’s water licence without consulting Treaty 8 First Nations, along with Elder Taz Bouchier and MP Heather McPherson. The ask was plain: pause new approvals, assess before approving, and talk to the people affected. The Joyful Dinos were there, and read a manifesto.
