Bucking the Trend: How Alberta Can Build Lasting Local Value Through the Data Centre Economy

By Jess Sinclair
CCI Director of Prairie Affairs

Stampede 2026 was one for the books. More than 1.4 million visitors packed the grounds over a 10-day period for the Greatest Show on Earth despite a sizzling (by Calgary standards) forecast and eye-watering food prices.

Personally, I draw the line at forking out $25 for a Coca-Cola with clam juice, but I did make the rounds at a number of industry and innovation events, including the always-excellent Platform Tech Stampede Social. Despite some recent encouraging news that Calgary is performing better than many of the country’s other lagging tech ecosystems, the founders and CEOs I spoke to were not in a particularly champagne-cork-popping frame of mind.

Many spoke of increasingly tight capital markets, competing with US mega-firms for top talent, procurement challenges with domestic governments, and overall uncertainty about the economic impacts of October’s referendum on an Alberta separation question.

A Big Investment — But Who Benefits?

Another subject that dominated conversations was Meta's announcement of a one-gigawatt data centre in Sturgeon County, northeast of Edmonton. The numbers associated with the project are impressive at first blush; a $13 billion investment and 3,000 construction jobs created.

One local founder I spoke to said “It’s great that Meta wants to build the thing here, but what does that do for my company?”

This has been the overwhelming consensus of the C-Suite leaders I’ve spoken to about the project since.

It’s been said before, but infrastructure is not necessarily innovation.

Building the Value Chain

Building a data centre can be about far more than construction jobs and cable management. Modern facilities require sophisticated software, cybersecurity systems, networking equipment, energy management technologies, cooling innovations, cloud infrastructure, AI tools, and ongoing operational support. Canada and Alberta are home to world-class companies operating in each of these areas. Prioritizing Canadian firms that can and do compete on quality and security is the only way to build deep and durable economic value once the tradespeople, lawyers and lobbyists finish their work.

Economic Security Matters

Reliance on foreign technologies can expose critical infrastructure to geopolitical uncertainty, export restrictions, and supply chain disruptions. Developing Canadian capabilities in cybersecurity, software platforms, energy management, and AI infrastructure reduces these risks while ensuring greater control over technologies supporting essential public and private services. For infrastructure as strategically important as data centres, supply chain diversity and trusted domestic partners should be viewed as components of economic security.

Alberta's Opportunity

Alberta also has an opportunity to position itself as Canada's preferred location for sovereign AI infrastructure. As governments and businesses increasingly seek to store and process sensitive information within Canada, locally built and operated facilities supported by Canadian technology providers become increasingly valuable. Canadian firms understand domestic regulatory requirements, privacy expectations, and public sector operating environments, making them strong partners for governments seeking secure and trusted infrastructure.

Energy innovation provides another opportunity for Canadian companies to contribute. Alberta-based firms are developing advanced cooling systems, grid optimization technologies, carbon management solutions, and software that improves energy efficiency in high-performance computing environments. Incorporating these innovations into new data centre developments can reduce operating costs while retaining grid stability and strengthening the province's reputation as a leader in sustainable digital infrastructure.

Think Beyond the Build

Finally, government should view data centres as anchors for a broader innovation ecosystem rather than isolated construction projects. Policies that encourage partnerships between operators, Canadian technology companies, post-secondary institutions, and research organizations can accelerate commercialization, create high-value jobs, and attract additional private investment. Supporting local procurement, workforce development, and research collaboration ensures that the economic benefits extend well beyond construction.

These projects are happening in Alberta and across the country. Canadian co-location company eStruxture recently announced it will soon break ground on its third Alberta data centre. But domestic projects rarely receive the attention that accompanied Meta's announcement.

Support for projects that create stronger value chains and anchor more big ideas here at home would go a long way to allaying the types of uncertainty Calgary (and visiting) C-Suite leaders relayed to me at Stampede.

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About the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI)

The Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) is Canada’s business council for the 21st century economy. We are a collective of over 175 of Canada’s fastest-growing and most ambitious companies, and the founders, CEOs, and executives behind them, working together to improve the business conditions that help more homegrown companies scale, compete globally, and drive long-term prosperity.