• MLAs open Alberta legislature's fall sitting amid internal UCP pushback

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-10-27 21:47:51.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Governance, Education, Technology, Transportation]

  The Alberta legislature opened its fall sitting on October 27, 2026, with the governing United Conservative Party (UCP) introducing new legislation aimed at removing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices and bolstering protections against deepfake intimate imagery. Government house leader Joseph Schow stated that 13 to 14 bills are expected this session, covering policies on bike lanes, e-scooters, AI data centres, auto insurance changes, and an overhaul of school report cards. Meanwhile, the UCP caucus is managing internal pushback and separatist pressures, sitting at 47 of 87 seats following the immediate resignation of MLA Shane Getson, with Premier Danielle Smith's office indicating no byelection will be called prior to the scheduled October 18, 2027 provincial election.

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• Affordability measures, consumer protection legislation coming: Alberta government

  Source: Alberta - Provincial Politics
  Date: 2026-10-24 00:52:20.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Affordability, Technology, Energy, Governance]

  Ahead of the Alberta legislative session, Government House Leader Joseph Schow outlined an upcoming suite of bills focused on lowering auto insurance costs, revising utility bill protections, and updating consumer rules for ticket resales and used vehicles. The provincial government under Premier Danielle Smith also plans to introduce new regulatory frameworks for artificial intelligence data centres—addressing grid stability, power bills, and water usage following public backlash over a $13-billion Sturgeon County project involving Meta—alongside merit-based public sector hiring rules, bike lane legislation, and stricter illegal dumping penalties.

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• In Canada's drone-killing 'Sandbox,' companies compete for a $1M prize

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-10-17 08:00:00.0
  Tags: [National, Alberta, Defence, Technology, Industry]

  The Department of National Defence hosted its fourth Counter-Uncrewed Aircraft Sandbox competition at the Suffield Research Centre in Alberta, offering a $1 million prize to spur domestic defence technology innovation. Two dozen companies from Canada, Australia, Finland, and the United States showcased detection and interception technologies, including laser-guided missiles developed by Calgary-based North Vector Dynamics and portable kinetic missiles by St. John's-based StrobelTEK. The initiative forms part of the federal government's Defence Drone Initiative to jump-start sovereign manufacturing capabilities in marine, underwater, ground, and aerial drone systems.

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• Province offers satellite internet rebate for some rural Albertans

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-10-13 20:06:03.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Technology, Infrastructure, Economy]

  The Government of Alberta, led by Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish, has announced the Alberta Satellite Rebate Program providing a one-time rebate of up to $1,000 for rural households to cover satellite internet hardware, installation, and applicable taxes. The program targets an estimated 10,000 remote households across the province that are currently out of reach for existing broadband expansion projects due to low population density or challenging terrain. The rebate is available through March 31, 2027, and applies retroactively to purchases made since August 11 from authorized vendors. This initiative forms part of broader federal and provincial commitments totaling $755 million to expand high-speed internet access across Alberta.

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• Data centres face security risks amid growing strategic value: CSIS

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-10-11 19:30:20.0
  Tags: [Alberta, National, Technology, Energy, Public Safety, Infrastructure]

  A May 27 Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) assessment warns that Canada's growing network of approximately 300 data centres faces rising security risks, including cyberattacks, physical threats, foreign ownership vulnerabilities, and supply chain bottlenecks for electrical components. Alberta Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish highlighted the province's push for sovereign computing infrastructure amid multi-megawatt developments, including a proposed Meta AI facility north of Edmonton, an AI centre near Olds, and the Wonder Valley project near Grande Prairie. The data centre market across Canada is projected to more than double over five years to reach US$25 million, prompting scrutiny over foreign ownership, data sovereignty, and robust domestic safeguards.

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• County of Grande Prairie issues data centre development permit near Sexsmith

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-30 18:09:48.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Municipal, Technology, Energy, Infrastructure, Governance]

  The County of Grande Prairie issued a development permit under its 2003 Land Use Bylaw for a new artificial intelligence data centre near Sexsmith in the Emerson Trail area, featuring five buildings measuring 80 by 180 feet and 15 make-up air generator accessory structures measuring eight by 20 feet. Following public pushback from residents regarding transparency and potential impacts on water, noise, and the environment, County Reeve Amanda McDonald announced that future data centre applications meeting right-zoning requirements will now be routed through the Municipal Planning Commission. The underlying land-use redesignation applications for the project site were submitted by Christopher Balderston (CEO of Ground Level Land Corp.), Pamela Balderston, and Ryan Curry (operating as RB Curry Auto Transport), placing the development within Ground Level's planned Redtail Business Park. Although the municipal development permit has been granted, the project remains subject to provincial regulatory agency requirements, such as obtaining an Alberta Energy license, which heavily restricts the municipality's jurisdiction over additional environmental and operational conditions.

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• Vegas, baby: Alberta Minister Dale Nally travels to Sin City to talk iGaming

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-26 18:34:24.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Economy, Governance, Technology]

  Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally traveled to the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas to promote Alberta's emerging regulated iGaming market and engage with industry partners. Minister Nally participated in a panel alongside representatives from FanDuel, GeoComply, and the Alberta iGaming Corporation to discuss market expansion and player protections. The provincial government's stated objective for the regulated framework is to attract licensed operators in order to crowd out predatory and unregulated alternatives.

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• An alternative to treat and release? Alberta to approve $4.6 million grant for tailings ponds water treatment research

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-17 18:10:50.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Energy, Environment, Mining, Technology, Indigenous]

  Emissions Reduction Alberta offered a conditional $4.6 million grant to Tũ Nipi Water Solutions—an Indigenous-owned venture formed by Fort McKay Oil Services and BioLargo Canada based in the Fort McKay First Nation—to fund research and development of water-treatment solutions for tailings ponds in the Athabasca oilsands region. The funding, expected to roll out in early 2027 for closed-lab testing, aims to develop alternatives to controversial treat-and-release wastewater proposals for handling the more than 1.4 billion cubic metres of fluid tailings currently stored in the province. The initiative aligns with recommendations from Alberta's Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee and incorporates traditional knowledge alongside advanced cleantech applications.

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• 'AI is here to stay': Cherry-picking Glubish tells concerned Grande Prairie crowd to call their MLAs about data centres

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-17 15:32:29.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Technology, Energy, Environment, Infrastructure, Municipal]

  Approximately 300 residents attended a contentious Sept. 11 town hall in Grande Prairie regarding the proposed 65-square-kilometre Wonder Valley AI data centre project backed by Kevin O'Leary. Alberta's Minister of Technology and Innovation, Nate Glubish, defended the initiative by stating artificial intelligence is here to stay and pointing to a closed cooling system meant to mitigate water use from the Smoky River. However, local participants and critics, including resident Casey Klein and SAIT research scientist Dr. Robert Davies, raised concerns that the facility—which holds interim and preliminary municipal licences to draw up to 6 million and 24 million cubic metres of water annually—would impose cumulative environmental impacts through thermal energy emissions, low-frequency fan noise, and heavy resource exploitation within the Municipal District of Greenview and the Peace Country Region.

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• Carbon capture CEO says critics ‘told me I was crazy,’ hopes Alberta project proves them wrong

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-17 11:00:33.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Energy, Environment, Climate, Technology, Taxation]

  Montreal-based Deep Sky Corp. operates its Deep Sky Alpha direct air capture facility near Innisfail, Alberta, where it pulls carbon dioxide from the air, stores it underground, and sells offset credits to corporations such as TD Bank Group, Microsoft Corp., and Royal Bank of Canada. U.S.-based GE Vernova Inc. is partnering with Deep Sky to install a machine designed to capture up to 1,500 tonnes of carbon annually by late 2026. The capital projects and equipment are supported by a federal refundable tax credit covering up to 60 percent of eligible direct air capture spending through the end of 2035.

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• Carbon capture CEO says critics ‘told me I was crazy,’ hopes Alberta project proves them wrong

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-17 11:00:33.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Energy, Environment, Climate, Technology, Industry]

  Montreal-based Deep Sky Corp. operates its Deep Sky Alpha direct air capture facility near Innisfail, Alberta, where it pulls carbon dioxide from the air, stores it underground, and sells offset credits to buyers including TD Bank Group, Microsoft Corp., and Royal Bank of Canada. The company utilizes a refundable federal tax credit covering up to 60 percent of eligible spending on direct air capture equipment through the end of 2035. GE Vernova Inc., a U.S.-based partner, is bringing a machine to the Alpha site designed to capture up to 1,500 tonnes of carbon annually by late 2026.

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• From pipelines, to railways and AI: Ottawa pitches 167 projects ahead of Carney's investment summit

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-09-10 21:20:00.0
  Tags: [National, Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Infrastructure, Energy, Transportation, Economy, Technology]

  The federal government has released a 66-page prospectus outlining 167 investment projects across eight sectors ahead of the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, co-hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney alongside the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Public Sector Pension Investment Board to attract $1 trillion in international capital. Notable infrastructure and energy proposals featured in the document include a $57 billion US expansion of the Port of Churchill, a $44 billion Nova Scotia Wind West offshore wind project, a $35 billion West Coast Oil Pipeline connecting Alberta crude to British Columbia, a $28.5 billion Ksi Lisims LNG terminal project on the B.C. coast, a $10.9 billion Calgary-to-Edmonton high-speed passenger rail line, a $2.1 billion US South Bow Prairie Connector pipeline expansion, and a $14.5 billion data centre near Medicine Hat, Alberta. The pitch aims to diversify Canada's trade and energy export markets amid escalating U.S.-Canada trade tensions while highlighting assets ranging from fully permitted, shovel-ready initiatives to preliminary-stage critical mineral developments.

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• Canada, Ukraine forge 100-year pact built on drones and defence

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-09-10 18:15:05.0
  Tags: [National, Alberta, Defence, Technology, Industry, Energy]

  Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a 100-year strategic and political partnership in Calgary, Alberta, focusing on defence production, trade, energy, and critical minerals. Ottawa plans to establish a drone marketplace to produce millions of drones within two years by pairing Canadian firms with Ukraine's battle-tested industry, while expanding cooperation on counter-drone technology, munitions, and artificial intelligence. Additionally, Canada pledged over $430 million in loan guarantees for gas purchases to support Ukraine Energy Security Fund infrastructure repairs, alongside a $350 million air defence package.

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• Free course covering basics of AI to be available to all Canadians by end of the year

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-09-09 18:46:13.0
  Tags: [National, Alberta, Technology, Education, Labour]

  The federal government, through Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon, announced a $13 million investment to launch the National AI Literacy Initiative in partnership with the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (AMII). The initiative provides three free, self-paced online courses covering the basics of artificial intelligence, responsible use, and workplace readiness skills. Training for K-12 educators and post-secondary students launches on September 21, while a third course titled 'Essentials for Canadians' will become available via Employment and Social Development Canada's Job Bank and community partners by the end of the year.

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• Danish entourage bullish over Alberta carbon-capture partnerships

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-08 11:05:23.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Energy, Environment, Climate, Technology, Trade]

  Danish organizations including Green Hub Denmark, Clean, and the Triangle Energy Alliance are expanding carbon-capture partnerships with Alberta entities such as the University of Alberta, Deep Sky, Edmonton Global, and Alberta Innovates due to Alberta's standing in carbon-capture technology and a shifting European investment climate regarding the United States. The collaboration features ongoing research linkages, such as between Aarhus University and the Deep Sky facility in Innisfail, alongside upcoming delegations at the Carbon Capture Conference scheduled for September 15-16 at the Edmonton Convention Centre. However, trade tensions and potential U.S. tariffs impacting Canada create ongoing economic uncertainty for prospective Danish investors looking north.

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• Want to build a data centre in Canada? These are the federal government's new expectations

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-09-03 15:30:00.0
  Tags: [National, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Technology, Energy, Infrastructure]

  The federal government announced a new framework outlining five core expectations for responsible AI data centre development, responding to public pushback over electricity and water consumption. Signatories to the framework include major corporations such as Amazon Web Services, Anthropic, Bell Canada, Cohere, eStruxture, Hypertec, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Telus. The policy follows major regional developments, including Meta's planned $13-billion AI data centre and $4.6-billion natural gas-fired power plant in Alberta, a contested Telus project in Vancouver, and provincial initiatives like Ontario's Data Centre Playbook and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew's cancellation of a facility south of Winnipeg.

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• Alberta’s Smith takes questions at less rowdy AI town hall, NDP calls for freeze

  Source: Alberta - Provincial Politics
  Date: 2026-08-27 12:31:14.0
  Tags: [Alberta, Technology, Energy, Infrastructure, Economy]

  Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and her ministers held a virtual town hall with over 12,500 participants to address public concerns regarding the rapid development of artificial intelligence data centres, such as the proposed $13-billion Meta campus north of Edmonton. Amid criticisms regarding heavy water consumption, power grid reliability, and residential proximity setbacks—which recently prompted a provincial regulator to reject a project in the town of Olds—the provincial government is evaluating regulatory frameworks and setback guidelines. Meanwhile, Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi called for a province-wide moratorium on new artificial intelligence data centres until stricter rules, impact assessments, and life-cycle reclamation plans are established.

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