Pressure Systems edition
Alberta Data Centres and Oil Pipelines Strain Provincial Grids
September 2, 2026
What this edition shows
Alberta municipalities and provincial regulators are fast-tracking secretive hyperscale data centres and oil pipeline proposals while offloading the financial and energy burdens onto local utility ratepayers and taxpayers. As private healthcare spending surges federally following abandoned pharmacare promises, provincial extractive industries and tech developments lock communities into long-term infrastructure liabilities.
Reporting and analysis behind this edition 5 sources
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Alberta municipality hid deal for Kevin O'Leary data centre during key public hearings
An Alberta municipality quietly agreed to host Kevin O'Leary's behemoth Wonder Valley data centre — before changing its bylaws in a six-minute hearing that made no mention of the project — months before Wonder Valley was public, Canada's National Observer has learned.
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New Meta Data Centre Could Cost Albertans $460 a Year
A Pembina Institute study found the megaproject will increase electricity costs for other users.
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Canadians’ Private Spending on Health Care Is Up Sharply
The federal Liberals’ abandoned pharmacare promise is a major factor.
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New report says Alberta’s proposed West Coast oil pipeline may not pay its way
With one month to go before federal government decides whether Alberta’s proposed West Coast oil pipeline is in the national interest, a new report questions whether the project is needed or worth its multibillion-dollar price tag.
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Report calls for escalating fees for Alberta's inactive oil wells
According to the Pembina Institute, it's cheaper under the current system for a company to let a well sit inactive for years or even decades until the company goes bankrupt or the well can be transferred to another company that goes bankrupt, leaving the well orphaned.