Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced Wednesday that it will invest more than $9.1 billion to construct its first artificial intelligence data center in Canada - and its largest outside the United States, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The facility will be built in Sturgeon County, Alberta, supported by a natural-gas-fired power plant developed by a consortium that includes Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Ltd.
“The project represents an investment of more than $13 billion Canadian dollars and will support over 3,000 construction workers at peak and more than 300 operational jobs,” the company’s statement reads.
Alberta’s Minister of Technology and Innovation, Nate Glubish, hailed the project as “a big deal for Alberta”, noting that the province has established a regulatory framework designed to attract large-scale data center investments.
Because Alberta’s grid cannot accommodate multiple massive AI centers, the province is prioritizing projects that secure or build their own power generation – a requirement Meta’s plan fulfills.
To address environmental concerns, Meta said the new center will employ a closed-loop cooling system that avoids drawing water from local sources. The company also pledged $43 million in local infrastructure investments, including upgrades to roads and water systems.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Meta had launched a new AI-powered smart glasses.