Alberta’s government has released a new strategy to attract investment in artificial intelligence (AI) data centres, positioning the province as a potential North American destination for these facilities. The plan focuses on power capacity, sustainable cooling and economic diversification, according to documents from the government.
“Artificial intelligence is behind all the newest technologies we rely on,” said Premier Danielle Smith. “There’s incredible opportunity around artificial intelligence and we are unafraid to dream big. This strategy will position Alberta as the place to invest and build AI data centres.”
Officials say the province’s abundant natural gas, competitive power market and existing electricity sector expertise make it appealing for AI data centre projects. Alberta’s climate, with its cold winters, is also considered an advantage by potentially reducing the need for artificial cooling. The government said it aims to keep utilities reliable and affordable, while maintaining what it described as the lowest taxes in Canada.
“Alberta is uniquely positioned to capture the AI data center opportunity,” said Nate Glubish, Minister of Technology and Innovation. He said the strategy could create jobs, attract investment and support public services.
The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) described data centres as crucial for AI companies to build, scale and deploy new technologies. “Many of the algorithms the world’s data centers are running on have been pioneered by Amii researchers right here in Alberta,” said CEO Cam Linke. He added that locating data centres close to leading research could give firms an edge.
According to the government, it consulted with AI data centre builders, operators, power generators, natural resource sector participants, telecommunications firms and municipalities. The province cited data from P&S Market Research projecting that the global AI data centre market could more than double by 2030 to more than US$820 billion.
The Alberta Electricity System Operator currently lists 12 data centre projects totalling 6,455 MW of load. Government officials said there is about 1,000 MW of additional dispatchable generation over current needs, though this figure may change as new power sources come online or existing ones go offline.