Microsoft is on an investment spree. Close at the heels of its announcement surrounding US$ 17 billion investment into cloud and AI infrastructure in India, the tech giant has now revealed that it aims to invest CAD 19 billion into AI infrastructure in Canada. This investment spans 2023 to 2027, and includes an investment of CAD 7.5 billion in just the next two years.
In a blog on Microsoft’s official website, Brad Smith, Vice Chair & President, says, “We’re building new digital and AI infrastructure needed for the nation’s growth and prosperity, with new capacity beginning to come online in the second half of 2026.” He further said, “Microsoft is investing to create a secure, sustainable, and scalable backbone for AI adoption, empowering Canada to lead confidently in the AI era.”
According to Microsoft’s AI Diffusion Leaderboard, Canada ranks 14th globally in AI adoption, with usage now topping a third of the population.
Smith explains, “Our investment expands our Azure Canada Central and Canada East datacentre regions, delivering sustainable, secure, and scalable cloud and AI capabilities. These datacentres will power everything from modernized public services to advanced AI innovation—responsibly and within Canadian borders.”
Microsoft also plans to “defend Canada’s cybersecurity, keep Canadian data on Canadian soil, strengthen privacy protection, support leading local AI developers, and ensure the continuity of cloud and AI services.”
Smith says that the company recognizes the importance of data localization. “This is why we embarked a decade ago, in close consultation with national leaders, to build and open our first two Canadian datacentres to provide local data residency in Toronto and Quebec City. We have steadily expanded our local services each year since.“
It will also launch a “Sovereign AI Landing Zone (SAIL) in Canada”, which will be “an open-source AI Landing Zone whose code will be hosted publicly on GitHub, and which will provide a secure foundation for deploying AI solutions within Canada’s borders, so organizations can build, scale, and innovate while maintaining the highest standards of privacy and compliance.”