Tech powerhouse Meta revealed plans Wednesday to establish a one-gigawatt data centre in Alberta, marking its initial entry into the Canadian market amid surging global demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The facility, which will be located in Sturgeon County, is backed by a substantial $13 billion commitment and will become the company’s 33rd data centre worldwide.
Senior Meta officials joined Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and provincial leaders in Calgary to unveil the project, highlighting years of targeted efforts by the province to attract major technology investments into its energy-rich economy.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, said it would fully fund new generation and grid infrastructure for its Alberta data centre, which will consume about as much electricity as 800,000 homes.
The company has partnered with Pembina Pipeline, which announced last week it will go ahead with its Greenlight Electricity Centre, a new natural gas-fired power-generation facility in Sturgeon County which will be in service in late 2030 and with which Meta has a long-term tolling agreement.
The project will require approximately 150 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, according to Pembina, helping to create demand for Western Canadian natural gas producers.
Artist rendering of the new data centre planned in Sturgeon County, about 30 to 35 km north of Edmonton.
Courtesy Meta
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