Mr. Wonderful — as he likes to call himself — gets a lot of air-time, cast as the heartless a–hole on “Shark Tank.” But it’s Kevin O’Leary, the clear-eyed dealmaker who I need to meet, to explain why he’s backing a $70-billion AI data centre industrial park near Grande Prairie in northwest Alberta.
“This is the largest data centre project on earth,” the 70-year-old entrepreneur enthuses on our Zoom call. With permits already approved, the land regulatory hoops jumped through, the investment adds up to “the lowest cost of energy with the most educated workforce.” On brand, Kevin has dubbed the project site in Alberta, “Wonder Valley.”
