Ottawa sees AI data centres as a chance to raise natural gas production, documents show

A 2025 Privy Council Office note, released under access to information, calls data-centre investment a chance to boost the economy and build markets for Canadian energy. Much of it is redacted.

Needed by Alberta's data-centre projects

12,000+ megawatts

Alberta's proposed data centres would need more than 12,000 megawatts, about the province's whole consumption, and 85 per cent of its power comes from fossil fuels.

Greenpeace Canada, which obtained the documents, calls for a moratorium on mega data centres. The federal industry department says siting and power sources are mainly provincial matters, and Canada and Alberta still aim for net zero by 2050.