Canada's getting its first Meta data center, and it's built for AI

• Meta is building a 1 gigawatt "AI-optimized" data center in Alberta.
• It would be Meta's first data center in Canada and its 33rd facility worldwide.
• Meta said it's investing $9 billion in the site and another $40 million in local infrastructure.

Meta is bringing a data center to Canada.

The company announced on Wednesday that it broke ground for a new AI computing center in Sturgeon County, Alberta, just outside Edmonton. The facility represents an investment of more than CAD $13 billion, or roughly $9 billion, and is planned as a 1-gigawatt data center, the company said in a press release.

It will be Meta's first data center in the country.

"This data center will be optimized for our AI workloads, helping bring to life the technologies that billions around the world use to connect, find communities, grow businesses, and experience the power of our wearables," Meta said.

The facility will be Meta's 33rd data center globally. Meta said it expects the project to support more than 3,000 construction workers at peak and more than 300 "operational jobs" once it's completed. The company said it will also spend about CAD $60 million, or about $42 million, on local infrastructure improvements.

Meta did not disclose the acreage or square footage of the Sturgeon County campus. The company said the facility will use a "closed-loop, liquid-cooled system with dry cooling," meaning it is designed to avoid the need for a continuous water supply for cooling.

A Meta spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, Alanna Hnatiw, the mayor of Sturgeon County, welcomed the new facility as a positive development for the region, bringing jobs and "long-term tax revenue."

"We're excited to work with our new neighbours as we continue to make that vision a reality," the mayor said.

In the US, Meta said it has 28 data centers, including the massive Richland Parish site in Louisiana.

The Louisiana data center campus is expected to be Meta's largest facility to date, with a footprint of 4 million square feet, providing more than 2 gigawatts of compute capacity.