Nearly 1,000 people marched through downtown Halifax in the rain Saturday, calling for a moratorium on large-scale artificial intelligence data centres in Nova Scotia as opposition grows to a proposed Cape Breton facility.

Demonstrators gathered outside the provincial legislature before marching through the downtown core, according to reporting by Tori Fitzpatrick of The Canadian Press, published by Global News. Organizers said the rally was one of seven held across the province.

The protests followed Everwind Fuels’ announcement last month that it plans to lease a data centre in Point Tupper to U.S. artificial intelligence company Anthropic. Everwind has described the $10-billion development as the largest private investment in Nova Scotia’s history.

Anthropic has signed a 20-year lease for the 18,600-square-metre facility to support its AI assistant, Claude. The centre is expected to begin operating in 2027, drawing 95 megawatts of electricity in its first phase. An expansion scheduled for mid-2028 would bring its total electricity demand to 420 megawatts.

Protesters raised concerns about electricity rates, water use, environmental oversight and community consultation.

Ned Zimmerman, a Dartmouth tech worker and rally organizer, said communities had not been adequately consulted before the project was announced. A Change.org petition opposing AI data centre development in the province had attracted nearly 28,000 signatures, the report said.

Everwind says it will pay for all electricity infrastructure associated with the project and that the development will not increase customers’ power rates.

Premier Tim Houston’s office said the facility would proceed only if it meets provincial and federal requirements, including protections for water, the environment, electricity rates and power capacity.

Water use was another focus of the protest. The facility would draw water from Landrie Lake, which also supplies Port Hawkesbury, to cool its servers. Average daily water use is expected to reach 100,000 litres in the first phase and 500,000 litres in the next.

Everwind has said the cooling system would operate as a closed loop, with cooling fluid recycled or disposed of off-site rather than discharged into local waterways.

Rally organizer Ashley Drodge questioned the absence of an environmental impact assessment and what she described as a lack of binding regulations for AI data centres.

Environment Minister Timothy Halman said earlier this month that the project instead requires industrial approval, which he described as the most appropriate regulatory tool to ensure safe construction and operation.

Everwind did not respond to a request for comment about the protest. The company held two information sessions in Cape Breton earlier in the week, and its engagement director said more consultations would be arranged.

Houston’s office also said the province would consider legislative changes if it found they were needed.

Sources