Fortinet opens $30M cybersecurity hub downtown, plans to double Calgary workforce

Fortinet, a U.S.-based global cybersecurity company, opened its new $30 million innovation hub in downtown Calgary on Wednesday, marking a major expansion of its Canadian operations and signaling confidence in the city's growing tech sector.

The facility, housed in a 70-year-old building on 2nd Street S.W. that Fortinet purchased approximately 20 months ago, required extensive renovations. A Generation 2 data centre and the building purchase represented the major cost components.

The hub features a customer experience centre focused on operational technology and critical infrastructure protection on the top floor, where teams conduct hands-on work with physical equipment to safeguard critical Canadian infrastructure. A training facility occupies the second floor.

Fortinet currently employs 70 people in Calgary and plans to double that to 140 within the next 18 months. The company already operates a large campus in Burnaby and a customer support and training institute in Ottawa.

Gordon Phillips, Fortinet vice-president for western Canada, emphasized the importance of physical space for training and collaboration. "That's a big, big piece of what we're doing is upskilling workers, making people more cybersecurity aware and offering some training for our customers as well," he said.

Pedro Paixao, Fortinet senior vice president of international sales and service, noted the company's long commitment to Canada. "It's been 26 years that we've been investing in Canada, it's been an amazing growth story and now that we have enough resources, enough business here in Calgary, it made all the sense to continue that investment," Paixao said.

Fortinet currently employs almost 3,000 people across Canada and plans to add 600 more as part of a 30 per cent expansion. Calgary's status as a headquarters for critical infrastructure and operational technology, combined with the presence of major local clients and nearby tech employers like Garmin in Cochrane and Lufthansa aerospace companies, positioned the city as an ideal location for growth.