Invest Ontario welcomes Microsoft’s AI infrastructure expansion in Ontario supporting 1,250 jobs

Microsoft’s Community First approach advances responsible cloud and AI infrastructure, ensuring communities across the province share in the benefits of these projects.

VAUGHAN, Ontario, April 7, 2026 – Invest Ontario welcomes Microsoft’s investment to expand their Azure Canada Central data centre region in Ontario, an investment that demonstrates Microsoft’s commitment to responsibly building AI infrastructure in partnership with the province through its new Community First principles. This investment is part of the company’s landmark $19 billion commitment made in December 2025, to expand cloud and AI infrastructure across Canada between 2023 and 2027. This project emphasizes close collaboration with government and regional stakeholders to align with community priorities, support local jobs and strengthen Ontario’s technology ecosystem to deliver long-term economic growth for communities across the province.

Data centres are critical infrastructure that underpin modern economies and support essential services across healthcare, finance, education, and government. Microsoft’s expansion in Ontario will contribute to system reliability, strengthen domestic data capacity, and support organizations as they adopt and scale AI technologies.

Through Microsoft’s Community First approach, these infrastructure projects will contribute to economic growth, support responsible and sustainable energy and water use, strengthen digital and AI skills, and foster long-term community partnerships, while supporting 1,000 jobs during the construction phase and creating 250 new, good-paying jobs once the sites are operational.

Since 2023, Invest Ontario has worked closely with Microsoft to support this expansion, providing strategic assistance and helping to build strong connections with municipalities, as well as economic development partners, including Toronto Global.

With this expansion, Ontario strengthens its position as a global leader in cloud and AI services, accelerating the growth of one of North America's most competitive technology ecosystems. The new facilities will help meet rising demand for secure cloud computing while contributing to local infrastructure improvements and the expansion of regional tech clusters across the province.

Strong data infrastructure has long underpinned the success of our provincial economy, supporting growth in the tech, health care and financial sectors. As demand for AI, cloud computing and data processing continues to grow, Microsoft’s investment will ensure companies looking to invest in the province have the infrastructure they need to stay competitive and meet the moment.

Hon. Vic Fedeli

Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

Microsoft’s decision to expand its presence in Ontario with local communities in mind reflects the strength of what the province offers. Ontario has the talent, the reliable clean energy and the stability that global tech leaders need to build cutting edge cloud and AI infrastructure. This Community First approach to building digital infrastructure will create new jobs, strengthen digital capacity and drive continued growth in Ontario’s world class technology ecosystem. At Invest Ontario, we help companies of every size navigate how to scale their operations and advance their projects efficiently, and we are proud to support Microsoft as it grows its footprint in the province.

Khawar Nasim

CEO of Invest Ontario

Invest Ontario continues to partner with forward-looking companies to unlock new opportunities and accelerate their success, while ensuring the province is well-positioned to advance the technologies of the future.

For more information about Invest Ontario, please visit www.investontario.ca.