Meta Platforms Inc. is investing approximately $13 billion [1] to build a massive artificial-intelligence data centre in Sturgeon County, Alberta.
The project marks a significant expansion of AI infrastructure in Canada and is expected to stimulate the provincial economy through increased demand for utilities and natural gas [4].
The new campus will be located about 35 km north of Edmonton [2]. According to reports, the physical footprint of the facility will be approximately twice the size of New York City's Central Park, covering roughly 1,700 acres [3].
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith welcomed the investment and said the project could boost local natural-gas producers and utility companies [4]. Meta intends to use the site to support its growing AI workloads as the company scales its computing capabilities to meet global demand [4].
The scale of the investment is among the largest of its kind for the region. The facility will integrate deeply with Alberta's energy grid, utilizing the province's existing resource infrastructure to power the high-energy requirements of modern AI hardware [4].
“Meta is investing approximately $13 billion to build a massive artificial-intelligence data centre”
This investment signals a strategic shift toward utilizing Canada's energy resources to fuel the high power demands of generative AI. By placing a massive data hub in Alberta, Meta leverages the province's natural gas and utility infrastructure, while Alberta diversifies its economic base beyond traditional energy exports into the high-tech infrastructure sector.
