Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation (SLCN) has filed three judicial reviews related to the proposed $70-billion Wonder Valley data centre campus south of Grande Prairie, Alta.
It filed a water licence challenge last year that is set to be heard next month, and in September and October of this year, it filed two additional challenges related to Indigenous consultation on the O’Leary Digital project.
The September court application states the province’s decision to exempt Wonder Valley from an environmental impact assessment is “irrational, violates procedural fairness and breaches Alberta’s constitutional obligations.”
The October court application outlines similar grievances over the province’s decision to consult at the “lowest possible level,” offering the First Nation 15 working days to respond to project plans.
SLCN Chief Sheldon Sunshine said the First Nation has been kept in the dark through the development of the project, which was first announced in December 2024.
Taking the legal route, he said, appears to be the only way for its 4,000 members to get any answers.
“It’s frustrating,” Sunshine said in an interview with CTV News Edmonton. “What we’ve seen is really a lot of these processes getting streamlined so they’re fast-tracking these approvals without having adequate consultation.”
The court applications state SLCN is not limited to its reserve and holds traplines and rights throughout Treaty 8 territory where the project is proposed.
Sunshine has concerns over water use worsening drought conditions in the region, as well as the heat the 7.5-gigawatt facility will emit.
“Even some of the data centres that we see that are in existence today, the amount of heat that they’re generating and putting into the environment, increasing the local area several degrees,” he said.
“It’s going to have significant impacts on our way of life.”
7.5 gigawatts is more than five times the city of Edmonton’s electricity demand based on Alberta Electric System Operator numbers from last year.
Environmental assessments a tool for uncertainty: government
The province’s website states there are no shortcuts or exemptions for data centres, and all projects are assessed under the same environmental laws as every other industrial development in Alberta.
It describes environmental impact assessments (EIAs) as “one specific tool in Alberta’s environmental toolbox” reserved for projects whose effects are “genuinely uncertain.”
Data centres do not fall into that category, according to the technology and innovation minister.
“This is the same technology that we’ve been using for 25 years to power the internet,” Nate Glubish told CTV News Edmonton in a July interview.
“These data centres are a known technology, and the power generation – natural gas power – is also a known technology. The environmental impacts are known and can be foreseen.”
Glubish said it’s a misnomer that Alberta is the “wild west” of environmental policy and described the province’s regulatory processes as “very strict.”
“You still have to go through the Alberta Utilities Commission to get your power plant approved. You still have to meet all of our emissions guidelines, all of our noise rules, all of our water rules,” he said.
“There is a very robust process.”
‘Leap-before-we-look mode’: law professor
A University of Calgary law professor said changing provincial rules to require environmental impact assessments for data centres could help prevent litigation.
“Especially when an industry is in its early stages like this, best practice would suggest that the government ought to be doing that at least for the first few years,” David Wright told CTV News Edmonton in an interview.
Wright said while regulators analyze the environmental impacts of different parts of a project, such as water use or a power plant, they don’t look at the big picture.
“So it’s hard for the public to track the puck, if you will.”
He adds EIAs provide a forum for public participation and engagement with Indigenous communities and can help build social license.
“When you consider the magnitude of the risks and potential downsides, and considering litigation risk, it’s probably more efficient to do it right at the outset.”
Wright explained there are different versions of EIAs and he believes, “at minimum,” the federal or provincial governments should require a class environmental assessment, which analyzes a whole sector.
“We’re kind of in leap-before-we-look mode,” he said.
Litigation response
The Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas said in a statement it cannot comment on the legal challenges since the matter is before the courts.
The Ministry of Indigenous Relations echoed that response.
O’Leary Digital CEO Paul Palandjian pointed out in a statement the judicial reviews are directed at the government and wrote “we respect the Nation’s right to file these reviews through the courts.”
He added Wonder Valley is not exempt from environmental review and permitting.
“Regulatory applications require approval from the applicable provincial regulators, including requirements related to water, wetlands, industrial facilities, emissions, monitoring, and mitigation,” he wrote.
“We have made substantial progress on these matters, including preliminary design of a water management system that is based on reusing water and a commitment to closed loop cooling systems, significantly reducing water demand.”
He also said the company does not expect the First Nation’s filings to impact its current timelines.
The O’Leary Digital team told CTV News Edmonton it plans to file a facilities application with the Alberta Utilities Commission by the end of the year and once approved, the first phase of power construction can start in 2027.
It declined an interview due to the ongoing legal proceedings, but said project leaders “continue to have productive engagement with Indigenous communities in the region regarding environmental studies and mitigations, site visits, and discussions regarding significant economic opportunities for Indigenous communities and businesses.”
O’Leary Digital tried to strike down the water licence challenge by SLCN earlier this year on procedural grounds, but in August a judge dismissed its application.
“It gives us a little bit of hope,” said Sunshine.
“People think that we’re against everything but really at the end of the day, it’s us taking a look at those cumulative impacts and trying to hang on to what little we have.”
