Data centres booming across Alberta as AI race heats up

Canada is on the verge of a data centre explosion, and Alberta is leading the charge. A new analysis from York University shows the country currently has five hyperscale data centres — the massive facilities powering AI — but 96 more are in development.

The scale is unprecedented. Proposed projects would expand Canada's data centre capacity from 1.6 gigawatts to 13.2 gigawatts. These new hyperscalers are roughly 10 times larger than the data centres built in previous decades, consuming vastly more land, water, and energy.

Alberta is the epicentre. The province has cheap land, abundant energy, and government incentives that make it attractive to tech giants. While only 10 per cent of currently active data centres sit in Alberta, nearly 41 per cent of all proposed projects are targeting the province. By contrast, Ontario currently hosts about 41 per cent of active facilities.

Lyndsey Rolheiser, an urban economist at York University's Schulich School of Business, explained why: "They basically need a lot of cheap land so you can imagine this is going to be far away from city centres. They need access to energy and access to water."

Public concern is rising. A new Angus Reid poll found 68 per cent of Canadians would oppose a large AI data centre within a few blocks of their home — 73 per cent in rural areas. Yet the federal government this week unveiled a national AI strategy aimed at balancing expansion with safety and pragmatism. Whether Alberta can absorb dozens of hyperscale projects while managing environmental and community impact remains an open question.