Canada & Alberta Alignment — Responsible Data Centre Principles

Canada’s Responsible Data Centre Development Principles · Sept 3, 2026

Five national expectations. How the campus lines up.

The Government of Canada describes the Principles as a national baseline that complements provincial, municipal and Indigenous processes (Government of Canada news release, September 3, 2026). Here is how AHI’s design lines up with each one — our own assessment, not a government determination.

0 Lmunicipal water used — sealed closed loop

Behind the fenceown generation — no grid draw to run the campus

Rule 012Alberta’s sound standard — independently assessed

GPInvestment partner & general partner — Turning Stone

CanadaCanadian soil, Canadian law · Alberta-founded

PRINCIPLE 1 · GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Data centres must create lasting local benefits

Clear, lasting benefits for host communities and Indigenous rights holders — jobs, skills training and apprenticeships, local and Indigenous procurement, tax contributions, infrastructure investment, research partnerships and access to compute — identified through early engagement.

How AHI lines up

Local trades and firms hired first at every phase, with Alberta crews on site through construction.
A new non-residential tax base for Red Deer County and Alberta schools from the first phase — without new municipal servicing.
Partnership: Turning Stone Developments, a Métis-owned company, is a general partner.
Education and career partnerships with Alberta institutions; waste heat planned for year-round local agritech.

See: Jobs & local benefit · Turning Stone partnership

PRINCIPLE 2 · GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Data centres must not shift electricity costs to Canadians

Proponents must pay the costs of connecting and serving their projects — new generation, transmission, substations and grid upgrades — proportionate to scale, must not compromise grid reliability and, where required, must contribute new supply, storage or demand flexibility.

How AHI lines up

AHI generates its own power behind the fence from Alberta pipeline gas — dispatchable, N+1. The campus does not draw on the Alberta grid to run its computers, so no cost is shifted to households.
A transmission interconnection is in development through the AESO / AUC public processes, funded by the project and designed to add supply to the grid over time.
Energy storage and renewables are contemplated in the master plan†, subject to their own approvals.
This is Alberta’s “bring your own power” model in practice.

See: Energy platform · Milestones

PRINCIPLE 3 · GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Data centres must minimize water use and environmental impacts

Minimize freshwater consumption and protect local water supplies; prioritise closed-loop or high-efficiency water technologies, waste-heat recovery and low-emission energy; measure and transparently report water use and environmental impacts.

How AHI lines up

Zero municipal water. Direct-to-chip cooling on a sealed closed loop — no evaporation, no cooling towers; any water used on site is captured, treated and reused. Not connected to municipal water.
Free cooling in Alberta’s climate; design PUE in the ~1.1–1.2 range (immersion option lower still).
Waste-heat recovery is designed into the master plan for year-round agritech.
Hydrogen-blend-capable generation; AUC Rule 012-aligned; provincial environmental approvals in place for the current phase, with each further phase reviewed on its own.

See: Water & sound on the Community page · Cooling architecture

PRINCIPLE 4 · GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Data centres must be transparent about local impacts

Engage early and transparently with local governments and Indigenous communities; respect local approval processes; provide clear, independently verifiable information on power and water use, infrastructure, sound and emissions; track and report commitments over time.

How AHI lines up

Independent, APEGA-permitted acoustical assessments (RWDI) under AUC Rule 012, including the long-term buildout — with an as-built design that goes beyond what was modelled.
Development permits issued through Red Deer County’s public process; approvals held and pending are listed on the site.
A public Community Information & FAQ page with plain-language answers on water, sound, power, jobs and process.
Published commitments — and a contact path that gets answered.

See: Community Information & FAQ · Newsroom

PRINCIPLE 5 · GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Data centres must bring strategic value to Canada

Clear, lasting benefits for Canada — investment, tax revenue, Canadian supply-chain participation, innovation, research partnerships, workforce development and access to compute; strengthen Canada’s digital resilience, security and compute capacity under Canadian legal protection.

How AHI lines up

Compute on Canadian soil, under Canadian law — data that stays in Canada.
Alberta-founded and Métis-partnered (Havenz Smart Communities × Turning Stone Developments) with a Canadian delivery ecosystem: Alberta engineers, trades, precast, utilities.
A repeatable, template-based campus — the same waterless, quiet, behind-the-fence model designed to be built again with Indigenous partners across Canada (see below).
concurrently maintainable design, dual-path fibre, on-site dual-fuel backup — continuity of service for the organizations that will run here.

Verify: About AHI · Havenz Smart Communities · Partner with AHI

Principle wording summarized from Canada’s Responsible Data Centre Development Principles (ISED) and the Government of Canada news release, September 3, 2026. AHI supports the Principles.

Alberta’s AI Data Centres Strategy · December 2024

Alberta asked for “bring your own power.” We brought it.

Alberta’s strategy aims to make the province “the most attractive place to build AI data centres in North America” — on three pillars. AHI is the Alberta model in practice: off-grid power behind the fence, sustainable cooling built for our climate, and economic growth that stays in the province.

Pillar 1

Power capacity

Prioritize off-grid and grid-connected solutions; protect affordability and reliability for Albertans; use natural-gas reserves with renewables and carbon capture where feasible; streamline regulation.

AHI: firm gas at the fence; on-site N+1 generation; AUC Rule 012-aligned; a transmission interconnection in development that adds supply over time; storage and renewables contemplated in the master plan; hydrogen-blend capable.

Pillar 2

Sustainable cooling

Leverage Alberta’s cold climate; develop best-in-class cooling with water capacity in mind; collaborate with local companies on next-generation cooling.

AHI: direct-to-chip closed loop, zero municipal water, free cooling in Alberta’s climate, design PUE ~1.1–1.2, immersion option — engineered with Alberta firms.

Pillar 3

Economic growth

Canada’s lowest tax regime; data centres contribute jobs and government revenue; balance competitiveness with affordability for existing industries.

AHI: Alberta firms and trades hired first; a new County and school tax base from the first phase; engaged with the Government of Alberta’s data-centre programs; partnership with Turning Stone, a Métis-owned company.

Source: Alberta’s AI Data Centres Strategy (alberta.ca); investment ambition as stated by the Minister of Technology and Innovation at the December 2024 launch. Municipal process: Red Deer County development approvals, on the public record.

Good neighbour · Blindman Industrial Park

A quiet, dry, straightforward industrial neighbour.

Being a good neighbour isn’t a paragraph on a website — it is designed in. These are the standards the campus is built to; the Community page explains each one.

0litres of municipal water — sealed loop, not connected to municipal supply

Rule 012engineered to Alberta’s permissible sound levels — independently assessed, then measured

0municipal sewer or power tie-ins asked for — self-sufficient behind the fence

Every phaseearns its own permits, studies and public process before it is built

Right project, right zone

Inside a established industrial park, among heavy, medium and business-industrial assets — where projects like this belong.

Built beyond the model

Independent engineers modelled an earlier design; the as-built campus is precast concrete with sound walls — mitigation beyond what the model required.

Answers, not spin

Water, sound, jobs, taxes, farmland, process — a public FAQ that gets updated when you ask something new.

Community Information & FAQ →

Canadian strength · Repeatable by design

One template. Built here first. Designed to be built again.

AHI is not a one-off. It is a template-based infrastructure model — titled industrial land, gas at the fence, behind-the-fence generation, compute buildings built to the AHI Developer Guidelines, closed-loop or waterless cooling and Métis partnership — designed to be repeated wherever the checklist holds: Alberta first, then across Canada with Indigenous partners.

That is what strategic value to Canada looks like: not one campus, but a Canadian way of building them — sovereign, waterless, quiet, and partnered with community. † Growth beyond the first phase is a master-plan objective subject to its own approvals, capital and milestones.

Bring us a site or a Nation →The Turning Stone partnership

Land & gasTitled industrial land, pipeline gas, road and fibre corridor — the site checklist.

Power behind the fenceGeneration in 10 MW steps, N+1, AUC-aligned, hydrogen-blend capable; grid interconnection later, project-funded.

Secure Data Hall shellExample Secure Data Halls, immersion, or partner designs on powered land — all within the AHI Developer Guidelines, built in 10 MW steps.

Community & ownershipMétis partnership through Turning Stone, local trades first, a public process, four pillars — energy, data, food, careers.

Operate & reportCommitments tracked and reported over time.

Governments · municipalities · institutions

Bring the checklist. We’ll show you the campus.

Technical briefings and site tours for provincial and federal partners, municipalities considering data-centre proposals, and institutions looking for sovereign compute.

Request a briefing Book a site tour ← Main site