Some of the biggest names in American technology have made their presence felt at the Calgary Stampede this year, reflecting a surge of interest in Alberta from major U.S. tech companies looking to build large-scale data centers in Canada.
While oil and gas firms have traditionally dominated the annual energy gathering held alongside Calgary’s well-known rodeo, U.S. tech giants have carved out a noticeable footprint at this year’s event, according to sources who attended various functions.
Among the most visible participants was Alphabet’s Google, which sponsored the Stampede for the second consecutive year. The company held a private gathering on Sunday at the Corona Skydeck, an upscale rooftop venue overlooking the rodeo grounds that can accommodate up to 300 people. Federal and provincial politicians, along with government staff, were among those who attended, a Reuters source said.
A Google spokeswoman confirmed the company has a larger presence at the Calgary Stampede this year than it has ever had before.
Two separate sources indicated that Meta and Amazon have also been participating in events and holding meetings at the Stampede. Neither company responded when asked for comment.
Meta made a major announcement Wednesday, revealing plans to construct a large data center in central Alberta — its first facility of this kind in Canada. The project, which will be located in Sturgeon County, is designed to deliver one gigawatt of power capacity and carries a total price tag of C$13 billion, or approximately $9.17 billion U.S., according to Meta. The move is part of the company’s push to rapidly expand computing infrastructure to support the worldwide artificial intelligence boom.
Alberta has set an ambitious goal of attracting C$100 billion worth of data center investment, promoting its plentiful and low-cost natural gas supply as a key selling point. The province’s combination of affordable energy and cold weather — which helps cool data center equipment — could make it appealing to U.S. tech companies that are running into power shortages and community pushback at home.
The province’s technology minister previously told Reuters that Alberta is actively in discussions with several tech companies searching for locations where they can connect to the electrical grid without lengthy delays.
Alberta is also giving developers the option to build their own power generation facilities, helping them sidestep constraints on available grid capacity.
Although Alberta does not yet have any data centers operating at the so-called hyperscale level — which requires at least 50 megawatts of power — nearly 100 such projects have been proposed, and at least one large-scale facility is already set to begin construction.
