The race is on! Technology giants are jockeying for global leadership in artificial intelligence, a market estimated to grow at a CAGR of 36.6% from 2024 to 2030 to reach US $826 billion (CA $1180 billion). The stakes are high. So are the requirements for data centers that AI needs. Over the same period, power needed for AI workloads is projected to grow from around 4.3 gigawatts to as much as 20 gigawatts. By comparison, the total electricity production for a country like the UK is currently just 80 gigawatts. How will competitors in AI and other tech growth sectors satisfy their short-term and long-term infrastructure needs? For multiple reasons, Canadian colocation data centers are a compelling proposition.

The Plan is Everything

It all starts with an evaluation of the resources available for building the data centers that the market demands. The checklist of factors includes land, power, construction, technology, connectivity, and speed of regulatory and permit approval. This information then drives calculations of attractivity, investment, and profitability. It’s a model that Canadian colocation provider eStruxture knows well and that is the basis of projects like the new CA $750-million AI-focused facility that the company will be building close to Calgary, drawing 90 megawatts of power from the Alberta grid. It’s also a model that the government of Alberta understands and integrates into a business-friendly approach supported by three pillars that position the province uniquely for data center development: power capacity, sustainable cooling, and economic growth.

All the Space, No Surprises

To put size and surface area into perspective, a hyperscale data center may occupy the same space as a major shopping mall, or between 10 and 20 full size football fields. Canada has the space, but sites for data center construction also need to be geographically close enough to the markets to be served. With its colocation centers in or close to Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, eStruxture offers this proximity for its enterprise customers not only to the Canadian market, but in addition to densely populated north-eastern and north-western areas of the US, as well as Europe. As a further advantage, the four Canadian cities are protected from extreme climate conditions that can affect other parts of North America. For example, Calgary in the inland province of Alberta is sheltered from severe coastal weather. At the same time, it is located away from geographical fault lines and risks of earthquakes and other seismic upheavals.

Get Ready for Gigawatts

If Canada checks all the boxes for land and location, what about power? Canada is already one of the greenest locations on the planet for building data centers. The country offers a range of sustainable power sources including solar power and hydropower in Quebec and Vancouver. Yet there’s more than this to the power equation for AI and the data centers that drive it. AI workloads are power-hungry. The arrival of more energy-efficient AI technologies like DeepSeek may even increase total power requirements, as enterprises and users diversify rather than diminish their use of AI. Trends in data center power requirements show rises in ratings to hundreds of megawatts, possibly to gigawatt levels. With the intense competition to win the AI race, time-to-market of data center facilities is a major factor as well.

Natural Gas Power, Now

While existing national and regional grids can offer solutions, the new thinking is for data centers to take their power generation off-grid. If natural resources are available for fueling electricity generation, a data center can essentially “bring its own power” by installing its own power generation facility. Naturally, the question of ecological impact arises. Some resources are difficult or impossible to rehabilitate ecologically. For others however, solutions are already in operation. Emissions from the use of natural gas, for example, can be captured, stored, and even reused elsewhere, using carbon capture methods. Power generation via natural gas also has the significant advantage of being faster to implement, compared to other sustainable approaches. In Texas, US, significant agreements have recently been signed for using natural gas to power new data centers, and in Ireland, Microsoft gained approval to use its own natural gas power plant for its Dublin-based data centers.

Alberta says “Welcome”

In Canada, Alberta shines as a provider of abundant, affordable natural gas for data center power generation. It has ample underground space for storing carbon emissions and a deregulated electricity market. In parallel, it is increasing its activities in renewable energies. It also has a government that sees data center growth as a major part of driving successful economic expansion. The province has set up a cabinet working group to promote Alberta as a top destination for data centers. This proactivity with a focus on the reduction of red tape and acceleration of the approval process means a favorable business environment for data center operators. As a bonus, at 8% Alberta has the lowest corporate income tax rate in Canada. eStruxture is convinced. Besides the new 90MW facility already announced, the company has plans for more Calgary data centers with significantly higher power capabilities.

Cool Climate to Match Hot Technology

IT in general and AI specifically generate heat. Lots of it. But when it comes to cost-effective cooling solutions, Canada has an advantage that few others can match: the local climate. In Calgary for example, temperatures range from -11°C to 23°C. This naturally cool climate means less energy needed for data center cooling. The positive impact on data center operational costs can be considerable, as data center cooling typically represents 30-55% of data center power consumption. eStruxture provides the rest of the solution, especially for high-density IT deployments, with its advanced, scalable data center technologies like liquid cooling.

Build It and They Will Come

But first, build it. Fortunately, Canada has a skilled workforce available for major construction projects and daily data center operations, including compliance with strict data center standards. For example, eStruxture’s Calgary facilities maintain ISO 27001 and are built to Uptime Institute standards, in addition to meeting PCI DSS requirements. In accordance with Canadian federal laws on the protection of data and personal information, they are equipped with advanced security protocols, such as biometric access, video surveillance, and regular audits. Canada’s compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) makes it even more attractive to enterprises from abroad, particularly from Europe.

Connectivity

The remaining piece of the puzzle is connectivity. While applications like AI may do their processing in situ, they need to receive inputs of data for training and inference. When systems in a data center also serve customers with requirements for fast response times, both high bandwidth and low latency are essential. Canada’s well-developed data networking and fiber infrastructure enables the network performance that enterprises demand. As an example, eStruxture Data Centers is the choice for a leading cloud gaming company, meeting the expectations of users for connection latency as low as 30 milliseconds. With cross-border latency of as little as 60 milliseconds or less, Canadian colocation providers like eStruxture are also smart choices for apps in sectors like healthcare, finance, and e-commerce, serving end users in North America and in Europe.

Next Steps

The advantages of Canadian colocation compare favorably with those of other countries, particularly in relation to fluctuating international trade dynamics. In particular, Alberta offers a compelling alternative for colocation needs. eStruxture is at the forefront of the initiative to develop data center business, providing cutting-edge facilities, unparalleled scalability, and a commitment to Canadian values. We invite you to join us in Canada and specifically in Alberta, the new heart of the data universe.

Discover why leading AI and cloud companies are choosing eStruxture’s cutting-edge, scalable colocation solutions. Get in touch today to explore tailored digital infrastructure options in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver.

Sources

https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/artificial-intelligence-ai-market

https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1474143/global-ai-market-size

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/power-consumption-of-ai-workloads-approaches-that-of-small-country-report

https://www.statista.com/statistics/496283/total-electricity-generation-capacity-uk/

https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/alberta-rolls-out-plan-to-attract-data-centres-eyes-100b-investment-over-five-years

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/cloudburst-signs-natural-gas-deal-with-energy-transfer-to-power-texas-data-center/

https://www.estruxture.com/contact