REGINA — The provincial government has confirmed that Bell Canada will be building a 90,000-square-foot AI data centre development outside Regina.
The 300 megawatt data centre will begin construction this spring in the RM of Sherwood and is estimated to create more than 800 jobs during construction, according to the province. The province said there will be a minimum of 80 jobs associated with the ongoing operation of the facility and an additional 750 economic spin-offs, for a total of at least 1,630.
Once built, it will be the largest facility of its kind in Canada, according to the province. The project is estimated at $12 billion.
Premier Scott Moe was enthusiastic about the announcement, saying the data centre will be "one of the most significant-sized data centres on Earth. An investment that means hundreds of new jobs, resulting in a significant contribution to national Canadian data sovereignty, which I think we all bear some responsibility in being part of that conversation, and it pleases me for us and Bell to be part of that conversation of Canadian data sovereignty today. I'm happy to welcome Bell Canada's vote of confidence in our province of Saskatchewan."
Premier Moe said that once the first megawatts are online as early as 2027, the facility "will be the largest of its kind operating in our nation." He adds while the project site is in the RM of Sherwood, the "benefits are going to spread so much further than that."
"You'll see the benefits across our skilled trades, not just here in Saskatchewan, or even here in Regina for that matter. You’re going to see the benefits of the skilled trade sector across the province and across Western Canada. Through increased demand for workers, not only in construction, but in the operation of this facility moving forward. You’ll see the benefits in our community through direct and spin-off economic opportunities and careers, not just jobs, but careers in our province."
Speaking to reporters, Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada, explained why Saskatchewan was chosen for the project.
“Well, it comes down to the reason we are so keen to invest the largest amount of money we've ever invested in the province is the spirit of collaboration and ambition that the premier and his team has shown,” Bibic said.
“They want to drive investment, bring investment to the province, drive economic activity and productivity. So when we came here several months ago to visit with the premier and explain what our vision was for Bell AI Fabric, they quickly understood what our ambition was and there was a meeting of the minds and this is an action-oriented group of people and so are we.”
Bibic noted that when Bell AI Fabric was first launched, the first site they launched was in Mission Flats, B.C., at seven megawatts, not 300 megawatts, and that was focused on hydroelectric power.
But he said the ambition is for Bell AI Fabric to “be at the heartbeat of AI development in Canada, to have an interconnected system of AI data centres across the country. And you need the power in order to deliver that compute capacity, and we have here a province that is willing to make that compute power available to generate that compute capacity at scale.”
“So what we're doing here is building the largest AI data centre in Canada at scale. So we're moving beyond Canada being specialists in AI research, we're moving now to industrialization which is what drives economic growth and productivity.”
Premier Moe noted that Saskatchewan is “one of the few areas in North America where we do have available power in the size and scope that's required for us to have a serious conversation about data sovereignty in Canada, and we do need to play a role in that.”
“Second to that, as we look ahead the next number of years and we've been, I think, very bold about the ambitions that we have in ensuring that we have a reliable power grid but also an affordable power grid as we move to nuclear power and nuclear technology in this province, likely looking now at more large-scale reactors to satisfy the power needs that we will need in the future.”
Moe said there were "no" concerns about the province's ability to provide the 300 megawatts.
As far as regulatory reviews for the project Premier Moe said all of those have been done and performed, but he also noted the consultation has occurred with the City of Regina, RM of Sherwood and with the George Gordon First Nation.
One key aspect of the project, said Bibic, is it will be using a closed-loop cooling system, meaning it will not draw from municipal water sources.
He also said "advanced discussions are under way" regarding a district energy system that would enable waste heat reuse on nearby university campuses and in a development project also led by George Gordon Developments Limited located directly north of the site.
Partnerships important to the project
Premier Moe said that partnerships will be key to the project and they include a partnership with George Gordon First Nation on procurement participation and workforce development opportunities.
"This announcement is important because it reminds us that we are not competing against one another, we are building together," said the Chief of George Gordon First Nation Shawn Longman.
"First Nations business is no longer on the sidelines. We are participating in major projects, influencing procurement, driving policy conversations and proving that Indigenous led enterprises are strong, sophisticated and sustainable."
Other partnerships include the following, according to the province:
Partnerships with post-secondary institutions include agreements with the University of Regina and Saskatchewan Polytechnic;
SaskPower will be partnering with other provincial Crowns to support the project, with the province saying that work has already begun on the first phase of transmission interconnection expected to be completed by the end of 2026 to allow SaskPower to provide power for the facility;
SaskTel and their fibre optic network will link the data centre to Bell's national fibre backbone;
SaskEnergy is to develop natural gas infrastructure for Bell's on-site gas-fired power generation, to support the data centre’s peak operational demand as well as backup power generation.
Power rates won't rise
When asked if electricity bills will rise as a result of this project, Minister of Crown Investments Corporation Jeremy Harrison said "quite the contrary."
"In fact, we really are in a unique position right now. And thanks to Rupen (Pandya) and our team at SaskPower for this, but we are really in a unique position to actually have allocatable power for projects — whether it be uranium mines, we've announced two in the last couple of weeks, whether it be a new potash mine, whether it be a copper mine, we are in that unique position to be able to partner with Bell on a project like this."
Harrison said that having that "large new customer" in Bell Canada, with the power already available, will "actually serve as a mitigating factor on electricity costs."
