The Information and Communications Technology Council has published an examination of the economic consequences of Alberta’s proposed AI data-centre build-out.
Alberta, the authors note, is Canada’s most notable data centre market. The province accounts for 78% of planned Canadian developments.
The report, “Alberta’s AI Data Centre Workforce: Skills, Talent, and Economic Opportunity,” pulls from a variety of sources to analyze what the data centre opportunity means for the province as well as its workers.
Approximately 260,000 Albertans already work in construction and skilled-trades occupations relevant to data centre development, with over 12,000 MW in the planning pipeline.
A provincial strategy, launched in 2024, seeks $100 billion in investment over five years.
“As investment interest grows and projects advance … Alberta enters this period with capabilities developed over decades in energy, industrial construction, engineering, skilled trades, and information and communications technology,” states Anne Patterson, Chief Research and Communications Officer for ICTC, in the report. “These strengths are highly relevant to the construction and operation of large data centres and are central to the opportunity identified in the Government of Alberta’s AI Data Centre Strategy.”
ICTC estimates that just one 400 MW AI data centre could generate more than $800M in direct and indirect labour income for Alberta workers over 10 years.
Alongside bolstering industry-post-secondary partnerships and raising awareness, the report recommends creating an “Alberta AI data centre workforce observatory” in order to track employment, occupational demand, emerging skills, and workforce gaps as the industry develops.
“A dedicated and continuing source of information would help employers anticipate hiring pressures, support decisions by educational institutions about programs and enrolment capacity, guide training providers toward emerging skills, and give workers a clearer view of where career opportunities are developing,” Patterson said. “Developing specialized experience, improving access to current labour market information, strengthening employer-education partnerships, and expanding practical training pathways will help more Albertans participate as demand emerges.”
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