Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is set to announce a massive $13 billion data centre campus in Sturgeon County, about 35 kilometres north of Edmonton, marking the largest data centre development in Canada and one of the biggest private-sector investments in Alberta's history.
Project details and scale
The facility, designed specifically for artificial intelligence workloads, will span approximately 2.9 million square feet and operate at a gigawatt scale. According to Gary Demasi, Meta's vice-president of data centre strategy and development, the project is "pretty unique in the sense that it's a pretty large deployment." It will be the company's 33rd data centre globally, with most located in the United States, and is comparable to large-scale projects Meta announced this year in Indiana and Texas.
Investment and energy infrastructure
In addition to Meta's $13 billion investment, a separate $4.6 billion gas-fired electricity generating plant will be built by Pembina Pipeline, Kineticor Asset Management, and partners to power the campus. The total does not include the cost of high-tech computer chips needed for AI workloads, which would push the figure significantly higher.
Construction is expected to begin shortly, with completion typically taking a couple of years, Demasi said.
Economic impact and jobs
The project is projected to create 3,000 construction jobs and support 300 permanent operating positions. It will generate an estimated $250 million in annual benefits for the province, including taxes, increased natural gas royalties tied to power generation, and industry levies. Meta will also spend about $60 million on local infrastructure improvements, according to the province.
Alberta Technology Minister Nate Glubish called the announcement "a vote of confidence" and said, "Meta is committing to build what will be one of the largest data centre campuses in North America." He emphasized that the project demonstrates Alberta's ability to support gigawatt-scale infrastructure.
Background and significance
The announcement is the culmination of more than two years of work by provincial officials to attract hyperscale data centre investment. In late 2024, the United Conservative Party government set a target of attracting more than $100 billion in such investment by 2030. This is Meta's first data centre in Canada and represents a major milestone for Alberta's tech and energy sectors.
