REGINA, Sask. — The RM of Sherwood has voted to move Bell’s proposed AI data centre expansion into the public review stage, advancing applications that would rezone about 895 acres of farmland for future development.
Council approved first readings of two bylaws Wednesday morning, one dealing with the rezoning and another amending the municipality’s Official Community Plan.
The decisions do not give final approval to the expansion. Instead, they direct administration to issue public notice and schedule a public hearing.
Bell’s Jay Reichel, COO of AI Fabric, told council the project is part of a broader push to establish Canadian-controlled AI infrastructure.
“What Canada needs now is sovereign AI infrastructure, and Saskatchewan is building it,” Reichel said.
Bell and its development partners told council the expansion could eventually add about nine more data centre buildings and supporting infrastructure to the existing campus. Construction could begin as early as 2027 and continue through 2030 and beyond, depending on approvals and customer demand.
The proposed buildings would be single-storey structures about 10 metres high, with four-metre landscape berms and acoustic fencing.
Bell says land that is not being developed would remain in crop production, with existing farmers retaining the right to farm those areas through lease arrangements.
The company estimates a fully built campus could generate about $8 million a year in municipal and educational property taxes at current commercial-industrial rates.
It also projects up to 1,200 construction jobs through 2030 and beyond, along with between 280 and 500 long-term operational positions at the data centre and power generation facilities.
Bell’s president of AI Fabric, Dan Rink, told council the project is already having a significant impact on the Saskatchewan workforce.
“There’s about 32 Saskatchewan partners building this project,” Rink said. “Eighty per cent of the labour on site is from Saskatchewan.”
He said Bell is also deliberately sourcing Saskatchewan materials, including steel milled in Regina from Saskatchewan ore.
Bell told council the expansion would use natural gas generation rather than drawing its electricity directly from the Saskatchewan power grid. Any required grid interconnection or system upgrades would be paid for by Bell and its partners.
The company also said the data centre would use a sealed, closed-loop cooling system, meaning no municipal water would be required for ongoing cooling.
Water would instead be used for domestic needs and fire protection, while wastewater would be collected in holding tanks and hauled to an approved Regina facility.
Stormwater would be managed on site, with the company saying runoff would be controlled to pre-development rates. Further work will continue with the Water Security Agency and regional drainage committee.
For nearby residents, the next stage will bring more opportunities to weigh in.
Bell said it plans to hold in-person information sessions before the public hearing, send information directly to RM residents and continue meeting with neighbouring landowners.
The company also told council that consultation with First Nations and local landowners is ongoing.
“We have continuous engagement with the local landowners and have been incorporating their feedback at every step,” Rink said. “And the project design has changed significantly as we've moved along to incorporate their feedback.”
The proposed expansion is also being pitched as part of a broader Canadian AI infrastructure strategy.
Bell says the Regina-area campus is intended to provide data storage and computing capacity under Canadian ownership and Canadian law.
Rink told council that could have implications beyond the immediate project.
“Those services can either run in American data centres with value to Americans routed through American networks or they can exist in Canada under Canadian laws and Canadian data centres where the benefits that I articulated earlier come to Canadians,” Rink said.
Council ultimately voted in favour of advancing both the rezoning and Official Community Plan amendments.
The next major step will be the public hearing, where residents will have a formal opportunity to speak before council considers whether the proposed changes should move ahead.
