Anthropic's Nova Scotia data center: a 20-year EverWind lease, 95MW by late 2027, and open questions on power

Anthropic's Nova Scotia data center won't be built or owned by Anthropic. On Friday, October 16, 2026, the energy developer EverWind announced a C$10 billion data center and wind power plan at Point Tupper, on Cape Breton Island, and Anthropic confirmed that evening that it had signed a long-term lease as the anchor tenant. Reuters called it Anthropic's first data center agreement in Canada. It's another step in the company's push for AI datacenter capacity outside the US, days after reports of a planned Osaka site.

This story is based on EverWind's October 16 press release, reporting by Reuters, the Canadian Press, Global News and The Logic, Anthropic's statements as quoted there, and Canada's federal data center principles, checked October 18, 2026. The Canadian Press cited an Anthropic press release saying Canada is the sixth-largest user of Claude worldwide; as of October 18 that release wasn't posted in Anthropic's online newsroom.

The short version

• Who: EverWind, an energy and infrastructure company, is the developer. Anthropic is the tenant.
• Where: EverWind's existing site at Point Tupper, near Port Hawkesbury in Richmond County, Nova Scotia.
• Money: more than C$10 billion in total: more than C$8 billion for the data center campus and C$2 billion for onshore wind. EverWind calls it the largest privately funded investment in the province's history.
• Lease: 20 years, according to the Canadian Press and The Logic, for the campus's initial phase, according to EverWind. EverWind wouldn't disclose its value.
• Size and timing: 95MW from late 2027, then a 325MW expansion planned for 2028, for 420MW in total.
• Power: the existing grid at first. EverWind's wind farms won't be ready by opening.

What exactly did Anthropic sign?

A lease for data center capacity, not a construction project. Reuters reported that Anthropic "signed a lease with EverWind for data center capacity at Point Tupper." The Logic reported that Anthropic will lease space and power directly from the data center owner for 20 years. The Canadian Press, published by BNN Bloomberg, also gave a 20-year term. Global News described it only as "long-term."

EverWind's press release doesn't name the tenant. It says EverWind "has reached a long-term lease agreement with a leading frontier AI developer for the initial phase of the Point Tupper campus." At a morning news conference, CEO Trent Vichie described the tenant as a "leading AI company," according to Global News. Anthropic confirmed its role later that day.

Reuters didn't give the lease value, length or capacity. EverWind's wording ties the lease to the 95MW first phase; neither company has said whether Anthropic will take the 325MW expansion, or what it pays.

How big is it, and when does it open?

Last verified: October 18, 2026

For scale, 420MW is less than half of the gigawatt-class campuses in our gigawatt datacenter race tracker, and a little smaller than the 500MW reported for the NTT Data site in Osaka, which neither company has confirmed.

Where will the power come from?

At first, from Nova Scotia's existing grid. The Canadian Press reported that a study by the provincial grid operator found the first phase can rely on current infrastructure, and that EverWind's wind farms won't be ready when the data center opens. EverWind has environmental approvals for wind farms totaling 650MW, according to the Canadian Press. EverWind says the C$2 billion will go to four projects in its existing portfolio, Bear Lake, Windy Ridge, Kmtnuk and Upper Afton, but no date has been given for when wind power would supply the campus. EverWind also says the campus will be designed to reduce or stop drawing grid power when needed to protect reliability, and that the expansion won't be connected until the required system studies and approvals are complete.

The reports differ on two details:

• Batteries. The Canadian Press reported about 200 megawatt-hours of on-site battery storage. EverWind's press release, and Global News quoting it, say "several hundred megawatt hours."
• Who pays for grid upgrades. EverWind's release says EverWind "will fully fund all connection, network upgrade and other electricity-system costs attributable to the development," and the Canadian Press and Global News reported the same. The Logic reported that Anthropic promised to pay for the grid upgrades required to connect the facility and to protect existing electricity customers from related price increases.

Those statements may both hold if costs are shared, but neither company has published the terms.

What about water and local impact?

EverWind says the campus will use a closed-loop cooling system, removing heat mainly with air and using water-assisted cooling in the hottest weather. It puts water use at about 100,000 liters a day for the first phase and about 500,000 liters a day at full build-out, which it says is about 1% of Landrie Lake's identified safe daily yield. EverWind expects more than C$400 million in municipal tax revenue from the data center and wind projects over their lives, and it's negotiating with a First Nations consortium led by Membertou Development Corporation over an ownership stake in the campus; the Canadian Press put the proposed stake at 9%.

Anthropic said it would contribute "tens of millions of dollars to support community priorities," according to The Logic. EverWind's release describes a community benefit program "valued in the tens of millions of dollars" for the first phase, to be developed with local communities "and the customer." Jacob Glick, Anthropic's head of public policy for Canada, told The Logic: "Canadians are using Claude in growing numbers, and we want our infrastructure to be closer to the people who rely on it." He told Global News that "Canada has set a high bar for responsible data centre development."

That's a reference to Canada's voluntary Responsible Data Centre Development Principles, announced by AI Minister Evan Solomon in September. BetaKit reported on September 3 that Anthropic was among about two dozen signatories. The principles ask operators not to shift electricity costs to Canadians, to minimize water use and to respect local approvals. They aren't binding.

What do Nova Scotia's politicians say?

Premier Tim Houston backed the project. "Canada doesn't have enough compute power. We need more compute power in this country," he said, according to Global News. He pointed to existing industrial and environmental approval processes as "checks and balances" and hasn't legislated new data center rules.

The opposition objected. NDP Leader Claudia Chender said, "The Houston government is supporting this project without any discussion, consultation, legislation or regulations," the Canadian Press reported. Richmond County Warden Lois Landry said the community is open to the project if it's developed responsibly, while questions about electricity, water and infrastructure still need answers, according to Global News.

How does this fit Anthropic's spending?

Anthropic is signing compute deals at a fast pace ahead of its expected IPO, covered in our story on the $16.8 billion quarter. Reuters, in its report on the lease, said Anthropic spent $7.33 billion on computing and infrastructure last year, roughly triple its 2024 spending. Under this arrangement EverWind, not Anthropic, is the party building the campus and raising the money for it. The financing behind AI campuses is getting close scrutiny; see how banks are trying to offload AI datacenter debt and the credit rating Anthropic received in June. For the company's background, see Anthropic explained.

What's confirmed, reported and uncertain

• Confirmed (EverWind press release, October 16): the more-than-C$10 billion plan, the 95MW/325MW/420MW phasing, a long-term lease with an unnamed frontier AI developer for the initial phase, EverWind's pledge to fund grid costs, "several hundred" MWh of batteries, the water and job figures. Confirmed (Anthropic statements to Reuters, Global News and The Logic): Anthropic is the tenant.
• Reported: the 20-year lease term (Canadian Press, The Logic); grid power for the first phase (Canadian Press, citing a grid operator study); Anthropic's pledge on grid upgrades (The Logic).
• Conflicting: battery size (about 200MWh per the Canadian Press vs "several hundred" MWh per EverWind); whether EverWind or Anthropic pays for grid upgrades.
• Uncertain: the lease value; whether Anthropic will use the expansion; when wind power will supply the campus; whether the 2028 expansion gets regulatory approval.