First Canadian AI Hub
Meta to Build $13-Billion AI Data Centre in Alberta, Canada, Generating Hundreds of New Jobs
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Meta is building its first data centre in Canada — a massive C$13 billion (about US$9.17 billion) facility in Sturgeon County, Alberta, just north of Edmonton, according to CTV News. The one-gigawatt campus will sit on 1,750 acres of land, making it larger than Vancouver's Stanley Park.
The project marks one of the largest single tech investments in Canadian history. It will power Meta's artificial intelligence operations and signals a major push by the social media giant to expand its AI infrastructure beyond the United States, BetaKit reported.
A Giant Facility That Dwarfs an Entire City
At one gigawatt of power consumption, the data centre will use more electricity than the entire city of Edmonton, according to CTV News. To put that in perspective, a gigawatt can power roughly one million homes. The 1,750-acre site is enormous — Stanley Park, one of Canada's most famous urban parks, covers about 1,000 acres.
Meta described this as a flagship AI facility. It will support the company's growing need for computing power to train and run artificial intelligence models. AI data centres require far more electricity than traditional ones, making location and power supply critical choices.
Thousands of Jobs Coming to Sturgeon County
The project will create more than 3,000 jobs at peak construction, according to CP24. Once the centre is fully operational, it will support over 300 permanent jobs. Sturgeon County, a largely rural area north of Edmonton, stands to see a significant economic boost from the investment.
The announcement is a win for Alberta's government, which has been actively recruiting large tech and energy companies to the province. Officials have promoted Alberta as an ideal location for data centres because of its available land and energy resources.
Alberta's Natural Gas Strategy Attracts Big Tech
Alberta has encouraged data centre developers to use natural gas to power their facilities rather than drawing from the provincial electricity grid, CTV News reported. The province has abundant natural gas reserves, making it an attractive option for energy-hungry operations like Meta's planned facility.
Not every data centre proposal in Alberta has gone smoothly, however. Some projects have been rejected over concerns about environmental impact and the noise they generate for nearby communities. Meta's C$13 billion investment suggests the company cleared those hurdles in Sturgeon County.
Meta Bets Big on AI as Tech Giants Race to Build
Meta's Canadian investment is part of a broader global race among tech giants to build AI infrastructure. Companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have all announced massive data centre spending in recent years. Meta is now firmly in that race, planting its largest Canadian flag in Alberta.
CP24 noted that this is Meta's first data centre in Canada, making the Sturgeon County project a landmark moment for both the company and the country. Construction is expected to bring immediate economic activity to the region, with full operations to follow in the coming years.
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