Meta Invests C$13 Billion in Alberta AI Data Centre

Meta Platforms announced an investment of more than C$13 billion (approximately US$9.1 billion) to construct its first Canadian data centre in Sturgeon County, Alberta. The 1-gigawatt facility, which can scale to 1.8 gigawatts, will be the company's largest data centre outside the United States. Designed for artificial intelligence workloads, the campus is expected to be operational within two to three years, creating 3,000 construction jobs and 300 permanent positions.

To power the site, Meta signed a 10-plus-year agreement with Capital Power for 250 megawatts starting in late 2028. Long-term power will be supplied by the Greenlight Electricity Centre, a natural gas-fired plant developed by a consortium including Pembina Pipeline, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, and Kineticor Asset Management, expected to begin operations in 2030. The facility will utilize a closed-loop liquid cooling system to minimize water usage and include a C$42.3 million investment in local roads and water systems.

The project follows a 2024 roadmap by the Government of Alberta to attract high-compute AI infrastructure. However, the development faces opposition; Greenpeace Canada called for a moratorium on mega-data centres, and leaked federal documents indicate Canada has over 20 GW of planned AI capacity, which some officials warn could significantly increase national emissions. Meanwhile, Meta is expanding its broader AI strategy by developing an in-house chip code-named "Iris" and securing long-term hardware deals with Samsung Electronics, Sandisk, and Sumitomo Electric.