Meta Invests C$13B in First Canadian AI Data Centre in Alberta

Meta Platforms announced a C$13 billion ($9.17 billion) investment to build its first Canadian AI data centre in Sturgeon County, Alberta. The facility will start with 1 gigawatt of capacity, scalable to 1.8 GW, making it one of Meta's largest AI-focused infrastructure projects globally. The company's 33rd data centre worldwide, this marks a significant expansion beyond the United States, where Meta has already committed hundreds of billions to AI compute power. The announcement, made alongside Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, highlights Alberta's appeal due to abundant natural gas, cool climate, and business-friendly environment. Meta says it will fully fund new power generation and grid infrastructure for the project, which is expected to consume electricity equivalent to 800,000 homes.

To secure energy, Meta partnered with Alberta-based Pembina Pipeline for the Greenlight Electricity Centre, a natural gas-fired plant expected to start in late 2030. Until then, Capital Power will supply 250 MW from existing gas generation. The facility will use closed-loop liquid cooling to minimize water consumption and plans to offset its electricity use with renewable energy investments. However, environmental groups criticized the project, noting Alberta's grid is 60% natural gas-powered and more carbon-intensive than Canada's average. The investment reinforces Meta's aggressive AI strategy, but raises questions about balancing AI infrastructure growth with sustainability goals.