The world’s top AI company is trying to get Canadians psyched about having a data centre in their backyard.
Driving the news: Anthropic has set its sights on Canada for the next phase of its data centre buildout, hiring staff in the country to identify sites, secure processing power, and lobby local communities to host the increasingly controversial facilities.
As part of its push into Canada, Anthropic is hiring an Alberta-based community engagement manager, who will be tasked with winning over stakeholders in towns where it wants to build data centres.
Why it matters: A recent Angus Reid poll found that 68% of Canadians would oppose a large AI data centre within a few blocks of their home — companies like Anthropic are now desperate to convince the public that there are benefits to hosting them.
Residents’ objections include their tendency to push up electricity prices, increase emissions, generate noise pollution, and negatively impact the local environment.
Zoom out: Meta is planning to build a $13 billion data centre campus outside of Edmonton, but has faced backlash from locals. Another proposed data centre in Olds, Alberta, was just rejected this week by the province's utility commission, citing a lack of proper community consultations.
Meanwhile, Alberta’s Rocky View County voted last month to temporarily pause all new data centre proposals following public opposition.
Bottom line: The race for data centre dominance could ultimately come down to which company can be the most persuasive with municipalities and local residents.—LA
