Editor’s Note
This article examines the debate surrounding a proposed AI data centre in Saint John, highlighting the tension between economic opportunity and community concerns. It explores why some local leaders view the city as an untapped resource for such projects.
When a U.S. company made its data centre pitch to some concerned Saint John residents late last year, the CEO called the city an untapped “gold mine” for artificial intelligence projects.
The heads of Saint John Industrial Parks and the Fibre Centre in Moncton used similar terms, describing the city as a “hidden gem” and “hidden secret” for AI.
Businessman and former premier Frank McKenna agrees and credits the “historical relationship” between the provincial government and NBTel before the Saint John-based telephone company merged into Bell Aliant in 1999.
The company’s legacy, according to McKenna, includes a province rich in unused fibre-optic cable, called dark fibre. Dark fibre can be used to transmit data at high speeds, so it’s a resource and an opportunity for the city and New Brunswick as a whole.
McKenna said in an interview about the data centre proposed for Saint John. He said the result of the company’s foresight is that New Brunswick now has an “extraordinary resource” for creating data centres.
In October, Nathan Ough, CEO of Texas-based VoltaGrid, announced that his company and a partner, Canada-based Beacon AI Centers, would be developing a data centre in the expanded Spruce Lake Industrial Park.
Residents of nearby Lorneville have opposed both this proposal and the approved expansion that came before it.
said Ian MacKinnon, head of Saint John Industrial Parks.
While the resource has piqued interest, MacKinnon said he couldn’t speculate about other potential companies moving forward with projects. The VoltaGrid and Beacon AI Centers data centre is the only one confirmed.
This “gem” or “secret” isn’t quite so hidden, with even federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon briefly mentioning Saint John’s large amount of dark fibre during a visit to the city this week.
McKenna, who was premier during the last decade of the 20th century, said New Brunswick’s “lead” in technology has slipped over the years, but he believes the city and province should take advantage of a great asset.
Uri Litvinenko, CEO of the Fibre Centre in Moncton, said the province is set apart from other jurisdictions because of markets being saturated in places that also have fibre system availability and lower costs. Infrastructure also makes a difference.
The Fibre Centre is what’s called a “carrier hotel,” which connects governments and businesses to a global data highway.
he said. While New Brunswick had an advanced fibre system, Litvinenko said, it didn’t always have an “on-ramp” to this global data “highway.” This is infrastructure that Toronto, for example, has had since the 1990s. The Fibre Centre in Moncton opened in New Brunswick in 2015.