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Anthropic leases first phase of planned Nova Scotia AI campus
The News
On October 16, 2026, EverWind announced plans for more than C$10bn of private investment in Nova Scotia: more than C$8bn for a data-centre campus at Point Tupper of up to 420 MW, and C$2bn for onshore wind. EverWind says a 'leading frontier AI developer' has a long-term lease for the initial phase. Anthropic has since confirmed its involvement.
Chandni Melwani
Founder & Editor
Oct 22, 2026 · 1 MIN READ
Know More
- — Phases: 95 MW in late 2027, then 325 MW targeted for 2028, subject to applicable commercial, technical and regulatory conditions.
- — Lease: 20 years, per The Canadian Press and The Logic; EverWind declined to disclose its value.
- — Grid costs: EverWind says it will fully fund all connection, network upgrade and other electricity-system costs attributable to the development.
- — Ownership: Membertou-led First Nations consortium in talks for a campus stake, subject to agreements; The Canadian Press reports 9%.
EverWind’s release on October 16 did not name the tenant. At that morning’s news conference, Trent Vichie, its New York-based chief executive, called it a “leading AI company — a very, very large one.” By evening Anthropic, the San Francisco maker of Claude, had confirmed its involvement, Global News reported.
Nova Scotia-based EverWind plans to spend its own capital on the data centre and, with a long-term lease in place, will pursue financing from banks and pension plans, The Canadian Press reported. Vichie said “we can set an example” of how to “bring this industry to Canada and to protect Canadian sovereignty.”
EverWind said its wind farms won’t be ready when the data centre is expected to open in late 2027; company officials cited a study by the province’s independent grid operator saying existing energy infrastructure can support it. NDP leader Claudia Chender said Premier Tim Houston’s government is supporting the project “without any discussion, consultation, legislation or regulations.”
The Read
Anthropic wants infrastructure 'closer to the people who rely on it', and in Nova Scotia it will lease space directly from the data-centre owner and energy provider, whereas it typically buys compute from large cloud providers, The Logic reports. Anthropic's Canada transaction manager posting covers 'competitive selection across multiple markets', so more direct Canadian leases will probably follow.
Room for Disagreement
That posting covers deals 'from initial sourcing through lease execution', and Point Tupper's may be the one it was posted for. Confirming earlier postings to BetaKit in August, Anthropic did not elaborate on its Canadian data centre strategy. Its usual suppliers, large cloud providers, could supply more capacity.
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
How does EverWind plan to manage the campus's power demand?
EverWind says the campus investment includes 'several hundred megawatt hours (MWh) of battery storage' and that the campus will be designed to reduce or stop drawing electricity from the grid when necessary to protect reliability while maintaining operations. Its C$2bn wind investment will support four projects, Bear Lake, Windy Ridge, Kmtnuk and Upper Afton, which it says will help meet growing industrial demand, including demand from the campus.
How much water will the campus use?
Under current design assumptions, EverWind expects the initial phase to use approximately 100,000 litres a day, and average use at the planned 420 MW full build-out to be approximately 500,000 litres a day, about 1% of Landrie Lake's identified daily safe yield of approximately 34 million litres. Its closed-loop system circulates a water–glycol mixture through a sealed loop rather than routinely discharging it, removing heat primarily with air and using water-assisted cooling during the hottest weather.
Are Canada's Responsible Data Centre Development Principles binding?
No. BetaKit describes them as a voluntary, non-enforceable framework on how data-centre projects should consider factors like electricity and water use, and reports that EverWind and Anthropic have both signed. Anthropic's Jacob Glick said Canada and Nova Scotia's premier have set 'a high bar for responsible data centre development' and that Anthropic is 'committing to meeting it.' Premier Tim Houston suggested his government doesn't plan to legislate new data-centre rules, pointing instead to existing environmental and industrial approval processes, The Canadian Press reported.
Sources
- EverWind news release, October 16, 2026. Primary source for the more than $10 billion plan, the more than $8 billion campus and $2 billion wind split, the long-term lease with 'a leading frontier AI developer' for the initial phase (the release does not name it), the 95 MW and 325 MW phases and their conditions, the 420 MW campus meeting 'growing demand for artificial intelligence and digital services', grid-cost and battery commitments, the Membertou-led ownership talks, water figures and the four wind projects.
- The Canadian Press via BNN Bloomberg, 'EverWind says $10B AI data centre proposal largest private investment in N.S. history,' October 16, 2026. The 20-year lease, the undisclosed lease value, Vichie being based in New York and his sovereignty remark, EverWind's plan to spend its own capital and then pursue financing from banks and pension plans, the wind farms not being ready at opening, company officials citing the grid operator's study, the nine per cent Membertou stake, Houston on legislation, and Claudia Chender's statement.
- Global News, 'EverWind's large-scale data centre in N.S. will power Anthropic's Claude AI,' October 16, 2026. Vichie's 'leading AI company' description at the morning news conference, Anthropic confirming its involvement by evening, and Jacob Glick's statement.
- Reuters via The Star, 'Anthropic signs lease for first Canadian data center,' dated October 16, 2026. The investment stated as more than C$10 billion, which confirms the currency.
- BetaKit, 'Anthropic signs lease for $10-billion Nova Scotia data centre,' October 19, 2026. San Francisco-based Anthropic, and the Responsible Data Centre Development Principles as a voluntary, non-enforceable framework signed by both EverWind and Anthropic.
- The Logic, 'EverWind plans $10B data centre and wind development in Nova Scotia,' October 16, 2026. The 20-year lease for the first phase.
- The Logic, 'Anthropic revealed as client for EverWind's $10B Nova Scotia data centre,' October 16, 2026. Anthropic typically buying compute from large cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services and Google, and in Nova Scotia leasing space directly from the data-centre owner and energy provider.
- Anthropic job posting, 'Transaction Manager, Canada,' on Anthropic's Greenhouse job board, as captured October 22, 2026. The role leading 'the RFP and commercial sourcing process for Canadian data center deals, managing developer outreach, proposal evaluation, and competitive selection across multiple markets', and its 'About the role' line on stakeholder alignment 'from initial sourcing through lease execution'.
- BetaKit, 'Anthropic job posting suggests it's eyeing Alberta for data centre buildout,' August 20, 2026. Anthropic confirming its Canadian compute lead and Alberta community engagement manager postings to BetaKit without elaborating on its Canadian data centre strategy.
- Hero photo: aerial view over Amherst, Nova Scotia, with wind turbines of the Amherst Wind Farm, by Quintin Soloviev, Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 4.0
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence, which applies to the hero photo
Chandni Melwani
Chandni Melwani is the founder and editor of New in AI, covering AI agents, M&A, and enterprise adoption. She holds a Master's in Management of Artificial Intelligence from Queen's University and brings a practitioner's perspective from her work in Data and AI leadership.
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