Nova Scotians protest planned Anthropic data centre over water and power
Protesters rallied in Halifax, Canada, on Saturday against a huge data centre planned in Nova Scotia for the AI company Anthropic. Some fear it will strain a town's drinking water. Organizers plan more protests across the province on November 7.
Protesters gathered in Halifax on Saturday against a large data centre planned at Point Tupper, Nova Scotia, that would be leased to the AI company Anthropic, Global News and the Dalhousie Gazette reported. The Gazette put the crowd at more than 100 people.
The protesters marched from the Halifax waterfront to Province House, the provincial legislature, the Gazette reported. They held signs and gave speeches against the project.
EverWind, an energy company, announced on Friday a 10 billion Canadian dollar investment in a data centre campus at its Point Tupper site, Global News and the Gazette reported. Anthropic, which makes the AI assistant Claude, will lease the site. "Canadians are using Claude in growing numbers, and we want our infrastructure to be closer to the people who rely on it," said Jacob Glick, Anthropic's head of public policy in Canada, Global News reported.
EverWind said the campus will start operating in 2027 and could reach 420 megawatts, Global News and the Gazette reported. Global News reported that the first phase will be 95 megawatts. EverWind's chief executive said it will create up to 2,000 construction jobs and 215 permanent jobs, Global News reported. Organizers said those job numbers are misleading, Global News reported.
A Port Hawkesbury resident said he is worried the centre will draw water from Landry Lake, the town's drinking water source, Global News and the Gazette reported. Port Hawkesbury is less than a kilometre from Point Tupper, Global News reported. The Gazette reported that the project is set to take about 500,000 litres of water a day from the lake.
"We already have wells that are drying up in the summertime. I don't think we can afford to do this," one organizer said, according to Global News. Organizers said the plan seemed to be "randomly announced."
Premier Tim Houston said the project had been discussed for about a month and would help Canada build computing power, Global News reported. He called it "a powerful vote of confidence in Nova Scotia," the Gazette reported.
Organizers are planning protests across the province on November 7, Global News and the Gazette reported.
What we know: Protesters rallied against the planned data centre in Halifax on Saturday.
What we don't: Whether the protests will change the project.
Where outlets agree Global News and the Dalhousie Gazette both report that protesters in Halifax on Saturday opposed the EverWind data centre at Point Tupper that Anthropic will lease, citing Landry Lake water, and that more protests are planned for November 7.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.