Jul 09, 2026 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
Meta is planning a 1GW data center in Sturgeon County, Alberta, marking the company’s first facility in Canada. The project represents a CA$13 billion (US$9.17 billion) investment and could scale up to 1.8GW of capacity. The AI-focused facility will use a closed-loop liquid cooling system and is expected to create 3,000 construction jobs and 300 operational roles. It will become Meta’s 33rd data center worldwide.
Peterson added: "We're fully funding new generation and grid infrastructure in Alberta, which improves the reliability for all consumers. We're grateful for the partnership of Greenlight Limited Partnership, AltaLink, Capital Power, and the Alberta Electric System Operator. And we'll continue to match this facility's electricity use with 100 percent clean and renewable energy.
Alberta Premier Smith said of the upcoming data center: “Artificial intelligence is transforming the global economy, and Alberta is making sure we lead rather than follow. We created the right conditions to attract world-leading investments while protecting the interests of Albertans. This project will create thousands of jobs, generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue, and make electricity more reliable and affordable.”
Meta’s Canada expansion comes amid broader efforts to scale its AI infrastructure. The company is forecasting $120 billion–$135 billion in capital spending this year and recently launched its Meta Compute division to accelerate data center growth, with plans for tens of gigawatts of capacity over the coming decade. The Alberta project joins several other gigawatt-scale data center proposals in the province, including Synapse Data Center’s planned 1GW campus featuring ten 100MW buildings.
