Meta Platforms Inc. will invest approximately US$10 billion to construct its first data centre in Canada, located in Sturgeon County, Alberta. The facility will have a power capacity of one gigawatt, equivalent to the electricity used by roughly 750,000 homes, and will be primarily powered by natural gas. Meta is funding new electrical generation that will connect to Alberta's grid.
Construction and Job Creation
The project will require 3,000 construction workers during the building phase and will create 300 full-time jobs once operational, Meta announced in a statement on Wednesday. According to Gary Demasi, Meta's vice president of data centre development and strategy, this will be Meta's largest data centre outside the United States.
Expanding AI Infrastructure
This investment is part of Meta's global expansion to secure more computing capacity for its artificial intelligence ambitions. The Alberta project becomes the 33rd data centre in Meta's fleet. The computing power will support Meta's AI models and social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Additionally, Meta is exploring launching a cloud business that could sell some of that capacity to other companies.
Canada's Push for Data Centres
Prime Minister Mark Carney, elected last year, pledged to make Canada "the best place in the world to build data centres." The country offers vast reserves of relatively cheap natural gas and hydropower. Alberta, the source of most of Canada's oil and gas production, has attracted significant investment. Last year, Carney agreed to lift clean electricity rules and emissions limits that Alberta claimed hindered its power industry.
Supporting Infrastructure
Meta's announcement follows a decision by Canadian midstream company Pembina Pipeline Corp., along with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Kineticor Asset Management, to proceed with a US$3.2 billion gas-fired electricity plant in Sturgeon County. Meta confirmed this plant will support its data centre. Demasi noted that the only water required for the project will be for domestic uses, fire protection, and some equipment maintenance.
Alberta's Data Centre Boom
Premier Danielle Smith stated that Alberta has attracted as much as $200 billion in potential data centre investment. A firm backed by businessman Kevin O'Leary plans to build a 7.5-gigawatt data centre called Wonder Valley about 300 miles from Edmonton. Data District, a division of Swiss-based manager Alcral AG, has partnered with another company on a proposal for multiple data centres in the province.
