COPE Vancouver COPE rallies to oppose AI Data Centres, unveils Artificial Intelligence Platform

September 10, 2026. Downtown Vancouver -  This morning, COPE Vancouver supporters gathered at the site of the 150 West Georgia AI data centre to rally in opposition and to announce their Artificial Intelligence platform. 

“Ken Sim using 11 AI agents isn’t just lazy, it’s a sign of what happens when governments embrace AI without doing their research. That’s why we need to evict Ken Sim AND his 11 AI agents,” said COPE City Councillor Sean Orr, who announced COPE’s proposal for an Acceptable Use for AI Policy. 

This policy would govern the use of AI tools by all elected officials, staff, and city employees. “We need to prevent sensitive city information, especially information about residents, from being fed into unapproved AI systems, require privacy safeguards and disclosure of significant AI use, and establish consequences for elected officials who break these rules,” said councillor Orr. 

COPE city council candidate Solomon Yi-Kieran talked about COPE’s proposal for a moratorium on AI data centres. “These AI data centres will waste enough energy to heat over 85,000 homes, all while threatening to hike OUR utility bills,” said Yi-Kieran, who also discussed how AI data centres would suck up over 30 million litres of water and release noise pollution in commercial and residential areas. 

“No one in our communities asked for these AI data centres, and it’s our communities that will bear the costs while tech bros and CEOs rake in the profits. That’s why we need an AI data centre moratorium now. We can’t afford to have these water sucking, energy wasting, noise polluting data centres in the heart of our city,” said Yi-Kieran. 

COPE school board trustee Suzie Mah talked about the hasty rollout of Microsoft co-pilot in Vancouver schools, saying “teachers and parents were not meaningfully consulted before the decision to hastily rollout AI was made. And while trustees were informed, trustees were not asked to make a policy decision about whether students should be using generative AI in our schools. This is a serious problem.”

COPE is the only progressive party which has signed onto the PACES (Parents for AI Caution in Educational Spaces) pledge to keep AI out of Vancouver schools. While, ABC trustees alongside the Vancouver Liberals are all-in for AI in schools.

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