Meta to invest $10 billion in its first AI data center in Canada

On July 8, 2026, Meta began construction of its first data center in Canada: a 1-gigawatt campus in Sturgeon County, Alberta, with investment set to exceed CAD 13 billion (about USD 10 billion).

What will be built in Alberta

The new facility will be the 33rd in Meta's global network and the first on Canadian soil. The 1-gigawatt campus is designed specifically for the company's AI workloads, from recommendation systems to the generative models that power Meta's products.

• July 8, 2026: groundbreaking of Meta's first data center in Canada, in Sturgeon County (Alberta)
• Investment: more than CAD 13 billion (about $10 billion)
• About 3,000 workers at peak construction; more than 300 permanent jobs after launch
• Meta will direct roughly another CAD 60 million to local infrastructure, including roads and water supply
• An annual grant program, Data Center Community Action Grants, is being launched in the region for local nonprofit organizations

Beyond the construction itself, Meta is taking on part of its social commitments to the region up front: CAD 60 million will go to roads and upgrades to the county's water infrastructure, and the company is launching its annual Data Center Community Action Grants program in Sturgeon, which provides direct funding to local nonprofits.

How the company handles energy and water

Meta pays in full for the data center's energy costs so as not to shift them onto local consumers, and it funds new and upgraded energy infrastructure. For planning, the company worked with Greenlight Limited Partnership, AltaLink, Capital Power and the provincial grid operator, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). All of the data center's electricity consumption will be matched with 100% clean and renewable energy.

The Sturgeon data center uses a closed-loop liquid cooling system with dry cooling, so the cooling system will have no operational water consumption. Water will go only to domestic needs, fire protection and equipment maintenance. According to the company's official blog, Meta intends to become water positive worldwide by 2030, meaning it will restore more water than it consumes. The company also pays the full cost of water and wastewater services for the data center and discloses its water withdrawal and energy consumption data every year at sustainability.atmeta.com.

"We are pleased that

Sturgeon County will be home to our newest data center, and we look forward to working with the local community," the official Meta Newsroom blog says.

What this means

The Canadian project is part of Meta's global race for AI computing capacity. The company is taking on energy and water costs at the same time, to ease the load on local grids and avoid slowing approvals of such projects by regulators and local communities.

Frequently asked questions

How much is Meta investing in the data center in Canada?

Investment in the Sturgeon County campus will exceed CAD 13 billion, or about USD 10 billion.

How many jobs will the data center create?

About 3,000 people will work on site at the peak of construction, and more than 300 permanent employees will work there after the data center launches.

How will the data center affect water use in the region?

The facility uses a closed-loop liquid cooling system with dry cooling and no operational water consumption for cooling. Meta also aims to become water positive globally by 2030.