The Municipal District of Greenview had entered into a commercial arrangement tied to Kevin O’Leary’s Wonder Valley project before residents were given a formal hearing on the land-use change that made data-processing centres a permitted use inside its industrial gateway, according to newly uncovered records and Greenview’s own municipal documents.
Canada’s National Observer reported that Greenview signed a binding letter of intent on October 22, 2024 involving an O’Leary-linked company, three weeks before a November 12 public hearing on a bylaw governing data-centre development, and nearly seven weeks before Greenview and O’Leary Ventures publicly announced Wonder Valley on December 9.
Greenview’s published records confirm the other half of that timeline. On October 8, council gave first reading to Bylaw 24-979, initially proposing to add data-processing centres as a discretionary use within the Greenview Industrial Gateway’s Heavy Industrial One district. Municipal staff said the change would complement the area’s existing power-generation infrastructure and create additional development potential.
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The same municipal document classified the planned level of public engagement as “Inform” and stated the municipality’s promise to residents as, “We will keep you informed.” A hearing was scheduled for November 12.
If the newly reported October 22 contract date is correct, Greenview entered the binding Wonder Valley arrangement after first reading but before that public hearing.
Greenview’s November 12 hearing notice said the proposed amendment would make “Data Processing Centre(s)” a permitted use in the industrial gateway. Council then unanimously approved both second and third readings that day.
The municipality’s supporting analysis said making data centres permitted rather than discretionary would help streamline development because associated power plants could ultimately fall under Alberta Utilities Commission jurisdiction. Municipal staff listed no perceived disadvantages to adopting the amendment.
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Wonder Valley itself was not publicly announced until December 9. Greenview’s announcement said it had signed an LOI with O’Leary Ventures covering the purchase and development of thousands of acres. The project was promoted as a phased AI data-centre industrial park capable of eventually reaching about 7.5 gigawatts, with projected lifetime investment exceeding $70 billion.
The announcement did not disclose that the agreement had reportedly been signed before the November hearing.
At its March 25, 2025 meeting, Greenview council voted 10-0 to authorize the municipality to enter into a purchase-and-sale agreement with 2664755 Alberta Ltd. for Wonder Valley. Council also authorized the acquisition of 1,650 acres of Crown land at appraised value for eventual sale to that company.
Court-related reporting later disclosed another feature of the agreement. Greenview agreed to act as the developer’s agent in obtaining water authorizations, according to The Energy Mix, which reviewed the agreement through litigation involving Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation. The arrangement contemplated water rights of up to 24 million cubic metres annually, although the licence ultimately issued to Greenview permits withdrawals of up to 6 million cubic metres per year from the Smoky River.
The agreement later became relevant in court because much of the 59-page document submitted by O’Leary Digital was redacted. In August 2026, CBC reported that Court of King’s Bench Justice Parminder Johal rejected O’Leary Digital’s attempt to stop Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation’s judicial review of the water licence, finding that the company had not established that it was directly affected by the licence held by Greenview. The ruling allows the First Nation’s consultation challenge to proceed but does not invalidate the water licence or decide whether Alberta fulfilled its duty to consult.
Greenview held another land-use hearing in June 2025, after the purchase-and-sale agreement had been authorized, concerning the municipality-wide Bylaw 25-1000 rather than a dedicated Wonder Valley approval. Greenview had already conducted nine open houses as part of that broader land-use overhaul, and council eventually adopted the new bylaw in July.
The chronology does not establish that Greenview bypassed a legally required Wonder Valley referendum or that either hearing was unlawful but iIt does establish that commercial commitments involving the developer preceded public stages of land-use policymaking that affected how data centres could be developed in the municipality.
Wonder Valley remains proposed. Alberta decided in March 2026 that a provincial environmental impact assessment report was not required under the project description before it, while other provincial, municipal, Indigenous consultation, and regulatory requirements remain outstanding.
Alberta’s Major Projects database continues to classify the first phase as proposed.
