- B.C. Greens leader Emily Lowan called for a moratorium on new AI data centre construction on May 15, 2026, directly responding to Telus’s announcement of three federally-backed AI infrastructure projects in Vancouver and Kamloops.
- The Telus projects are expected to draw 85 megawatts initially, scaling to 150 megawatts by 2032, while a Nanaimo data centre project has raised local alarms over projected daily water usage of up to 70,000 litres.
- B.C.’s Bill 31, passed in December 2025, caps AI electricity use at 300 megawatts and data centre use at 100 megawatts until 2028, prioritising natural resource industries over emerging tech, a model now being watched by other jurisdictions facing the same infrastructure pressures.
British Columbia’s Green Party leader Emily Lowan is demanding a halt to new AI data centre construction, calling the province’s current approach “reckless and unacceptable.” The call came days after Telus and the federal government announced three new AI infrastructure projects, and it has put B.C. at the centre of one of the sharpest policy fights in Canadian tech governance.
The B.C. Greens’ Moratorium Proposal
Lowan’s core argument is that B.C. is operating on a “build first, regulate later” model that leaves environmental, health and security risks unaddressed. No new projects should proceed, she argues, until comprehensive regulatory frameworks are in place and the public has been properly consulted.
The resource demands of AI data centres sit at the heart of the Green critique. In Nanaimo, a data centre project described primarily as a data storage facility has already generated community opposition, with residents and local councillors raising concerns over projected water usage of up to 70,000 litres per day. The Telus projects, which have secured federal support, are expected to draw an initial 85 megawatts of power, scaling to 150 megawatts by 2032. Lowan also argued that existing penalties for breaching environmental conditions carry no real deterrent for large corporations, describing them as “pocket change” and “the cost of doing business.”
Water intensity is a particular concern in British Columbia, where drought conditions periodically strain supply. Data centres rely heavily on evaporative cooling, with some facilities consuming between one and five million gallons of water daily. Telus says its new B.C. facilities will use a closed-loop liquid cooling system to reduce consumption significantly, and that they will run on approximately 98% clean hydropower, according to the company. Lowan disputed that directly, pointing to B.C.’s current reliance on imported American coal-powered electricity during drought periods, additional data centre load, she argues, would deepen that energy gap rather than close it.
Balancing Economic Growth with Environmental Stewardship
The federal government and Telus frame the new infrastructure as essential to Canada’s sovereign computing capacity. Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon argued that Canada must accept this “risk” to remain globally competitive and keep Canadian data and intellectual property within national borders. Telus President and CEO Darren Entwistle pointed to the complete sell-out of the company’s first AI facility in Quebec as evidence of demand, and said the B.C. cluster would inject an estimated $9 billion into the Canadian economy, according to the company.
Proponents also highlight potential environmental co-benefits. The urban locations of the two Vancouver data centres could allow waste heat to be captured and fed into district energy systems, displacing natural gas heating for nearby homes. Telus vice-president Chris Madan said the facilities would set a “new standard” for sustainability in North America, according to the company.
B.C.’s own legislative response adds another layer. Bill 31, passed in December 2025, caps electricity use for AI at 300 megawatts and for data centres at 100 megawatts until 2028, with priority given to natural resource industries such as mining and liquefied natural gas. The Electrical Contractors Association of B.C. has raised concerns that such restrictions could deter investment and cost the province jobs in its technology sector.
A Broader Policy Question for AI Development
British Columbia’s debate is a sharper version of a question most major economies are now navigating: how fast can AI infrastructure be built before regulatory capacity breaks down? Lowan cited Ireland and the Netherlands as precedents, where moratoria on data centre construction produced what she described as more responsible regulatory outcomes. Whether that holds in a Canadian context, where sovereign AI capacity is a stated federal priority, remains contested.
The shift from a “first come, first served” electricity allocation model to a competitive bidding process, introduced under B.C.’s new rules, reflects a broader recognition that grid access needs active management. The federal government’s push for sovereign AI infrastructure and the provincial government’s resource-first power allocation policy are not obviously compatible, and that tension will shape how much AI capacity B.C. can realistically host.
The Greens have also called for a “People’s Assembly on Artificial Intelligence” to give the public a direct role in shaping AI governance, arguing that decisions of this scale should not rest solely with government and corporate stakeholders. As other regions face the same pressures, weighing pre-deployment oversight frameworks against the pace of infrastructure buildout, B.C.’s experience is shaping up to be a live test case for what managed AI expansion actually looks like. For more coverage of AI chips and infrastructure, visit our AI Hardware section.
