Alberta has maintained a rat-free status for over 70 years through active control measures, but the discovery of a dead rat in the town of Bowden has challenged this reputation. The province's rat-free status is attributed to geographic isolation, climate conditions, and a comprehensive control program established in 1950, though rising rat populations globally due to climate change pose ongoing threats.
Alberta's government is courting AI data centre developers while planning natural gas pipeline expansion to support both data centres and oil-and-gas production, despite 71% of Albertans opposing nearby facilities. Meta's proposed gigawatt data centre near Edmonton, purchased through a shell company for $300 million, exemplifies the lack of transparency and limited job creation benefits that characterize these projects.