Microsoft plans to spend US$500 million (CAN$687 million) over the next two years building four data centres in the Quebec City region to expand its cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure in the province.
Microsoft said that it would start building data centres in the coming months in three areas to the west of downtown Quebec City, in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Donnaconna and L'Ancienne-Lorette — as well as one in Lévis, on the city's south shore.
Microsoft has recently seen its revenues increase due to cloud computing and AI operations, prompting the Redmond, Washington-based firm to set aside at least $13.5 billion for new facilities, as CoStar News recently reported.
Microsoft did not specify the precise Quebec locations. However, over the last few years, the company has reportedly acquired property at:
- Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures. Microsoft paid $2.5 million to purchase a 370,000-square-foot property in the local industrial park in September 2021, according to the Journal de Québec.
- Donnaconna. In March 2022, Microsoft acquired a 767,000-square-foot terrain in a vacant site in the Donnaconna industrial park in an area bounded by Armand-Bombardier, Sauvageau and Piché streets.
- Lévis. In November 2021, Microsoft spent $20 million to purchase six million square feet of land on the former Charny Golf course at 2441 de la Rotonde Ave., according to a Radio-Canada report at the time.
- L'Ancienne-Lorette. In May 2021 Microsoft purchased a site at 6505 Yvon-Dolbec near the intersection of Jules-Verne Ave. and Hamel Blvd. The local municipal valuation was over $10 million for the property at the time.
The announcement of the four planned developments comes at a time when a constrained supply of available electricity has forced the Quebec provincial government to limit the number of data centres it can power. A recent CoStar News analysis noted that an average hyperscale data centre facility can consume enough electricity to power a small town.
Companies hoping to add to Quebec’s existing 64 data centres must now get approval for large projects from a provincial government selection process. In one recent example, Vantage Data Centres noted it was prepared to invest C$1.6 billion in future projects but had to cancel the plan after the government rejected its applications.
As part of the announcement, Microsoft said it would join with KPMG to launch an operational risk skills development centre and invest US$1.7 million in special AI training initiatives aimed at serving about 11,000 students in Quebec over the next three years.
The investments would "help make the region a major economic hub," provincial elected official Jonatan Julien, said in the statement. "When a global company chooses Quebec, all citizens benefit because of access to quality, well-paying jobs in cutting-edge fields. This will stimulate the local economy and bring Quebec City region to the global stage while improving the quality of life of its residents."