Canada's data centre pipeline could reach 20 GW

Canadian employers in construction, skilled trades and technology may face volatile, concentrated hiring demand ahead, as a federal document shows proposed data centre projects nationwide could total more than 20 gigawatts.

That is nearly 60 times the 337 megawatts now in operation, The Canadian Press (CP) reported.

The figure appears in a presentation prepared by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada for AI Minister Evan Solomon, meant for pitching international investors. Obtained by (CP) via access-to-information, it says Canada has about 337 megawatts of AI data centre capacity, with more than 20 gigawatts "under planning or development." 

Government spokespeople pushed back, saying the figure is not a projection of what Canada expects to build. Solomon's office said the minister "did not use this deck or cite the 20 GW figure in any external engagements, including with investors or international counterparts," CP reported. 

Officials called it "a high-level, point-in-time snapshot" of projects at varying stages, adding "most of this proposed capacity is not expected to proceed." Ottawa's AI strategy estimates 5.5 gigawatts of compute needed by 2030.

Alberta’s central role

Most proposed capacity is concentrated in Alberta, which aims to attract $100 billion in investment through its AI Data Centre Strategy. Alberta projects amount to more than 18 gigawatts, powered by natural gas rather than the grid, and could generate 20 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions — almost three per cent of Canada's 2023 total.

This week, Meta announced a $13-billion-plus data centre in Sturgeon County, north of Edmonton, its largest outside the U.S., powered by a gas-fired plant built with Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Ltd., The Canadian Press reported.

Opposition has emerged in multiple provinces, mattering to HR and OHS professionals because sustained resistance can delay projects and disrupt staffing timelines. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew rejected a proposed data centre southeast of Winnipeg, saying it posed "a big threat to the environment and not much benefit to the economy." Hamilton council is weighing a moratorium after residents cited grid strain and noise from a proposed harbourfront campus, and protesters rallied in Vancouver in late June against AI data centres opening there.

Meta is building its first data centre in Canada, a one-gigawatt facility in Sturgeon County, AB, that the company says represents an investment of more than CAD $13 billion.

Shared Services Canada

While the private-sector pipeline balloons, the federal government's own footprint is shrinking. Shared Services Canada operates facilities hosting federal digital services across two site types: ageing legacy centres serving individual departments, and modern enterprise data centres (EDCs) serving the whole government.

Four EDCs — Barrie, Borden, Gatineau and Montréal — are LEED Silver certified at minimum, and Borden holds Tier III Gold certification from the Uptime Institute. 

Shared Services Canada is consolidating legacy sites into the cloud or EDCs to cut the government's carbon footprint and improve threat protection — a contrast worth noting as Ottawa courts a private build-out many times larger, one increasingly reliant on gas-fired power.

Here are some of the data centres that are coming to Canada:

Confirmed by press release or government announcement

Government-funded initiatives