Stantec Bets on U.S., Canadian Data Centers as Backlog Booms

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Written by Will Ploch, Assistant Editor-in-Chief for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Stantec is defying doubts about the data center market with a growing list of projects for titans like Microsoft, while maintaining its role in U.S. and Canadian energy infrastructure.

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Optimism on Data Centers

Stantec Incorporated remains optimistic about data center development in the U.S. and Canada, despite growing public opposition, as it maintains its role in the energy-infrastructure market. Industrial Info Resources is tracking more than US$115 billion worth of active and proposed projects across the U.S. and Canada featuring Stantec's services, nearly half of which is attributed to data center developments.

"The long-term demand drivers of our business remain intact," said Gord Johnston, the chief executive officer of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm Stantec, in a quarterly earnings-related press release. "With a record backlog of C$9.2 billion (US$6.5 billion), we expect to see an acceleration of activity in the second half of 2026."

According to Industrial Info Resources data, eight of the data center projects featuring Stantec are nearing or under construction, with a total investment value of about US$3.6 billion. Clients include some of the biggest names in tech: Microsoft Corporation started construction earlier this year on the first building of its campus in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, where it hopes to build another dozen or so buildings in the coming years.

Microsoft also expects to finish construction later this year on the second building of its campus in Loudoun County, Virginia, which has more operational data centers than any other comparably sized place in the world. Loudoun County estimates more than two-thirds of global internet traffic passes through its fiber networks. But public opposition has been slowing some of these efforts; about 35 miles south, QTS, a subsidiary of Blackstone, recently pulled the plug on Prince William Digital Gateway, its proposed, 23 million-square-foot data center complex in Prince William County.

Industrial Info Resources offers more information on these developments in its Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database, where readers can find details--including construction schedules, investment values and necessary equipment--in reports on the Mount Pleasant and Loudon County projects.

In Thursday's quarterly earnings-related conference call, executives at Stantec did not address the rising opposition to data centers that has become a political hot potato. Instead, they pointed to data-center development as a source for ongoing growth, alongside public transportation and advanced manufacturing.

Stantec also cited data center growth as a reason for its acquisition last year of Page, an architecture and engineering firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. "The acquisition will deepen Stantec's expertise and resources in key growth areas such as advanced manufacturing, data centers and healthcare, while adding new capabilities in cleanroom design and fabrication facilities," the company said in a press release.

By the Numbers

• More than US$115 billion: Total investment in projects across the U.S. and Canada featuring Stantec's services
• About US$3.6 billion: Total investment value of U.S. and Canadian data centers nearing or under construction, and featuring Stantec
• About US$6.5 billion: Stantec's record-high project backlog at the end of the second quarter

Keeping Energy in the Mix

In recent years, data center and public-transportation projects have overshadowed energy-infrastructure projects in Stantec's portfolio. Nonetheless, the company is performing EPC services for one of the most visible developments in resource-heavy Western Canada: NorthRiver Midstream Incorporated's NEBC Connector Project, which is designed to carry both heavy liquid hydrocarbons and lighter natural gas liquids (NGLs) about 134 miles across British Colombia into Alberta.

NEBC comprises two parallel lines--one for heavy condensate, another for NGLs--that will run from the Montney Shale formation to processing fractionators and other downstream facilities in Alberta. Both started construction in fourth-quarter 2025 and are slated to be completed toward the middle of 2027. Readers can learn more from detailed project reports on the condensate and NGL lines.

Stantec also is involved in a swath of renewable-energy projects across the U.S., including two solar plants in the Midwest: Savion Energy LLC's Saratoga Solar Plant in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, which is designed to generate 150 megawatts (MW), and Repsol S.A.'s Ritter Station Solar Plant in Fayette, Ohio, which is designed to generate 199 MW. Stantec is serving as environmental consultant on both projects.

Savion, a subsidiary of Shell plc, started construction on its project earlier this summer, while Repsol expects to begin construction toward the end of the year. Both projects currently are set to be completed in the second quarter of 2028. Readers can consult detailed reports on the Saratoga and Ritter Station projects.

Stantec's net revenues for the second quarter totaled C$1.8 billion (US$1.27 billion), an 11.5% increase from second-quarter 2025; net income was reported to be C$150.3 million (US$106.2 million), an 11% increase.

The Industrial Info Resources GMI Project and Plant databases offer a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and a full list of related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources also offers a full list of reports for active and proposed projects across the U.S. and Canada featuring Stantec's services.

Key Takeaways

• Stantec expects to see an acceleration of activity in the second half of 2026.
• The company cited data center growth as a reason for its acquisition last year of engineering firm Page.
• Stantec's second-quarter revenues and net income each were at least 11% higher when compared with the same period last year.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news, and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing, and energy-related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified, and verified plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).