Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston's office has criticized a Toronto professor for making "slanted comments" about a proposed artificial intelligence data centre in Cape Breton.

Sibo Chen, an associate professor of communication at Toronto Metropolitan University who researches the discourse around AI data centres, said in an interview with CBC News last week that public concern over the proposed facility in Point Tupper, N.S., is valid.

Two days later, a communications adviser in the premier's office sent him an email that called his remarks "irresponsible" and "uninformed."

"Nova Scotians deserve facts, not speculation presented in a way that creates unnecessary anxiety," William Burns wrote in the email.

The email was copied to Chen's department chair at Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly Ryerson University, a step Chen interpreted as an attempt to exert institutional pressure. A reporter at CBC Nova Scotia who interviewed Chen was also copied.