Hundreds March Through Vancouver for Second Time to Oppose AI Data Centres as Petition Reaches 14,000 Signatures
Hundreds of Vancouver residents marched from the Vancouver Art Gallery to City Hall on June 27, 2026, in the second major demonstration against two planned AI data centres in the city in just over a month. The protest targeted a Telus-led cluster of AI infrastructure facilities backed by the federal government's Enabling Large-Scale Sovereign AI Data Centres initiative. The petition opposing the centres has now reached nearly 14,000 signatures.
Hundreds of people took to the streets in Vancouver on Saturday to oppose the construction of two new AI data centres in the city. Demonstrators marched from the Vancouver Art Gallery to City Hall where they called for the projects - a partnership between Telus and the federal government - to be halted. Daily Hive
The protesters vowed they would be back for more. This was the second major demonstration since May 23, when between 500 and 700 people marched through Vancouver's streets in the first protest, which organizers described as far larger than expected.
The Specific Concerns Behind the Protests
The opposition is anchored in two concrete concerns: water use and electricity demand, both of which carry particular urgency given Metro Vancouver's current Stage 3 water restrictions.
With Metro Vancouver already under Stage 3 water restrictions, demonstrators say the move doesn't make sense. "Even if it's a small drain on the water supply it's going to make things worse, population growth is already straining our water supply," organizer Guerric Haché told CBC. Mubadala
The petition started by SFU student Grace Barrett focuses on the same issue, noting residents had been warned of fines for watering gardens with hoses while plans moved forward for AI data centres estimated to use 55,000 to 70,000 litres of water daily for cooling. Organizer Torin LaRocque argued that even with Telus's efficiency claims, scale still matters: "They state that they will have more than 60,000 GPUs on the conservative side. If each GPU will process an AI prompt a day, that is still over 1,400 litres of water being used a day."
Telus and the Government's Position
Telus has pushed back directly on the environmental concerns. Telus responded by saying that its AI data centres will be powered by 98% renewable energy from BC Hydro using a closed-loop liquid cooling system. The company said the three-site BC network will eventually scale to more than 60,000 GPUs and 150 megawatts of computing capacity by 2032, and projected the cluster will inject $9 billion into the Canadian economy. CBC News
BC Premier David Eby struck a balanced tone. "That's a concern of mine as well, which is why ensuring these data centres are not mass consumers of water is a key interest," he said. "I just want to reassure people that we have those regulations in place and that is key for British Columbia in terms of any centres going forward." Daily Hive
Telus is developing two data centres in Vancouver: one in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood expected to open by end of 2026, and a 10-storey facility at 150 West Georgia Street expected to come online in 2029. It is also expanding its existing Kamloops data centre.
The Sovereignty Tension
The Telus data centres are the first announced through the federal government's Enabling Large-Scale Sovereign AI Data Centres initiative - the same program that Canada's AI for All national strategy committed to as a response to the Anthropic export control. The Vancouver protests put the federal government in an unusual political position: the same week that the Anthropic incident validated the argument for sovereign AI infrastructure, community opposition to the physical manifestation of that infrastructure is growing.
For business leaders thinking about AI for business strategy and Canada's sovereign AI ambitions, the Vancouver protests illustrate a tension that Canada's AI for All strategy did not fully address: who decides where AI infrastructure gets built, and who bears the local environmental cost of national technology sovereignty goals? That question will follow every data centre announcement in Canada for the foreseeable future.
Cut Through the Noise
What are Vancouver residents protesting regarding AI data centres?
Hundreds marched through Vancouver on June 27, 2026 - the second major protest in a month - opposing a cluster of AI data centres being built by Telus in partnership with the federal government. Key concerns are water use (the centres are estimated to use 55,000-70,000 litres daily) and electricity demand, both particularly sensitive given Metro Vancouver's Stage 3 water restrictions. A petition opposing the centres has reached nearly 14,000 signatures.
What AI data centres are planned for Vancouver?
Telus is developing two AI data centres in Vancouver as part of Canada's federal Enabling Large-Scale Sovereign AI Data Centres initiative: one in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood expected to open by end of 2026, and a 10-storey facility at 150 West Georgia Street expected by 2029. It is also expanding its Kamloops data centre. The cluster is planned to scale to 60,000+ GPUs and 150 megawatts of computing capacity by 2032.
What is Telus's response to the environmental concerns?
Telus says its AI data centres will be powered by 98% renewable energy from BC Hydro and will use a closed-loop liquid cooling system that uses 90% less water than average data centres. The company projects the cluster will inject $9 billion into the Canadian economy and describes the investment as "critical national infrastructure for Canadians, by Canadians." BC Premier David Eby acknowledged environmental concerns while noting regulations are in place.
Why is the federal government building sovereign AI data centres in Vancouver?
The Enabling Large-Scale Sovereign AI Data Centres initiative is part of Canada's AI for All national strategy launched June 4, 2026. It aims to build Canadian-owned and operated AI compute infrastructure to reduce dependence on US-controlled platforms - a priority that became more urgent following the June 13 Anthropic export control that cut off Canadian access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models with minimal notice.
