REGINA, Sask. – This past week saw a flurry of announcements connected to projects impacting Saskatchewan.
The AI data centre, nuclear power, and pipelines were all in the news, but with those announcements come many questions about the timelines for the projects that are moving ahead.
A major announcement was made last Tuesday in Saskatoon when Premier Scott Moe as well as Minister for Crown Investments Corporation Jeremy Harrison announced plans to add 2600 megawatts of power by 2050 and add two new large scale reactors to be built in northwest Saskatchewan.
The government is also proceeding with small modular reactors with 600 megawatts being the goal for SMR generation from a site narrowed down to the Rafferty area near Estevan.
It now appears both the SMR initiative as well as the project large-scale nuclear power reactors will both run concurrently, with little time to waste in selecting a site in the northwest in time for 2042. Premier Moe was not willing to commit to a firm timeline just yet, saying a number of things are going to impact timelines on when decisions need to be made.
But Moe indicated the intent of the government was clear.
“On the front of the podium here, it says ‘strong, steady Saskatchewan,’” Moe said in Saskatoon.
“That's the approach we're taking to this. This is going to be a strong, steady process to ensure that we are making decisions that are right on behalf of the people that we represent today and are right on behalf of the people that will utilize this power for not just a few decades, but generations to come, and are right on behalf of the people that are creating that opportunity for a very fulsome engagement economically in using the outbuild of these nuclear reactors to truly size and scope companies in Saskatchewan so that they can participate in the global outbuild of reactors that we see happening.”
Minister Harrison pointed to discussions he had a couple of weeks earlier with Pierre Tremblay, the chair of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
“We had a very good discussion about what is achievable, what is realistic. And I am very comfortable, although we are going to push hard, I am very comfortable that what we have put forward as far as 2042 being a very realistic timeframe for large-scale nuclear.”
He also pointed to the province’s partnership with the Government of Canada being “a real one and has been a substantive one.” He also pointed to Premier Moe as well as Alberta and the NWT as being “far ahead of the curve” in planning and in working together on transmission build-up capacity.
He called it a “very positive nation-building exercise.”
“I have said publicly often that there is a lot in Canada that pushes us apart. Nuclear is one of those things that really can bring the country together. From Ontario to Western Canada to New Brunswick, we have elements of our nuclear supply chain right across the country. This is something that can bring the country together. And I credit the Government of Canada for being prepared to work closely with us on the nuclear strategy, on the electricity strategy. It all goes together in a very holistic way for us to get to the point to make the announcement that we are today.”
As for the consultation process, Harrisom pointed to Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission mandates for both consultation, process, and timeframes. All of those are “going to be followed,” he said.
But Harrison noted that there “really has been a marked change in public support as well,” compared to the 2008-09 period when a proposed Bruce Power large scale nuclear project was under consideration.
“I mean, this is a real thing. We've seen it reflected in surveys that have been done across the country. By far the strongest support of any jurisdiction in the country for nuclear power is Saskatchewan. And it's remarkable that probably the second strongest support is in Ontario. So jurisdictions that have the most direct engagement and understanding of whether it be uranium, whether it be value-add, whether it be generation, are the areas where you find that strongest support. So I think, you know, it's a different conversation than it had been in 2008-9.”
Premier Moe expressed confidence in the process, saying “Canadians and Saskatchewan residents, I think, can feel quite good about the fact that we do build big things in this province and we have a regulatory structure in place that ensures that people are consulted as the parameters are met through whatever that particular project might be.”
Whether it was “a duty to consult, environmental impact assessments, whatever that might be,” Moe said consultation will “certainly occur in an official status as those triggers are met.”
AI Data Centre
While there looks to be more consensus around a nuclear future for Saskatchewan, there are some sharper divisions and lots of questions when it comes to AI data centres.
At an update on construction progress at the Bell AI Data Centre project south of Regina, Bell Canada Group President John Watson was pressed for specifics about the expansion of the now-$53 billion project from the original 300 megawatts to 1200. Along with the BHP Jansen mine, Saskatchewan officials have touted the Bell AI Data Centre as one of the three biggest projects happening in the country.
But to get up and running the Bell AI Data Centre will require power. Watson confirmed they will need natural gas, under the province’s recently announced ‘bring your own power’ guideline.
“So ‘bringing your own energy’ will require natural gas-generated energy,” Watson said.
“I think the majority of the province's electricity is generated through that mechanism. This site is naturally located with natural gas pipelines, which is quite beneficial. So bring your own energy necessitates a natural gas-powered energy system. We will require a system to be built, likely with a partner. There are those who specialize in that area. They've got years of expertise. There's folks who support the province today. We're engaging all of them to understand what they can do and what they would recommend.”
As for the expanded footprint for the data centre, Watson said that would go at another nearby site in proximity to the current one.
“The reason is, again, there's really good natural gas access here. We've got the trades folks, we've got the to the city in terms of commerce jobs. And all of that's very beneficial if it's within this area.”
He wasn’t able to share details of timelines, noting the regulatory and approval process they must go through.
“And so the approvals have to come for all of this. This is why we can't be as precise in terms of the answers that you're probably desirous of. All of those things have to happen in conjunction and the details aren't locked today. This is so new that we've got to work those through with the community. “
As for the start of data centre operations next year, Watson said that in the first half of 2027, the idea is that their first two buildings will be “ready to go and outfitted and operating.”
He credited an “extraordinary timeline” facilitated by the “amazing trades” and the commitment and work ethic that they had seen, calling the pace of development “absolutely extraordinary.”
As for where customers will come from for the expanded data centre, Watson said they don’t have signed agreement with additional customers. But he indicated a commitment to data sovereignty.
“Our bias is always to go to Canadian companies. We've been knocking on doors for almost two years, government, provincial, large financial institutions, insurance companies, to look at the sovereign landscape, to look at the opportunity, to look at the compute required. We've also engaged all of the software companies, (and) announced this week that a major U.S. technology company will come on board as a sovereign offering with us.
“SAP did the same thing earlier in the year.
They will come on board as a software offering that's operating, controlled, managed by a Canadian company in Canadian jurisdiction. So our bias through all of this is to build Canada and build sovereign computing capabilities. I think where we have to have some patience is the readiness for those companies to require that.”
Minister Harrison was at this construction update announcement as well, where he told reporters the focus was on “building something that is going to have generational significance for people in the province and genuine national importance for the country as far as AI and data sovereignty.”
Harrison was also dismissive of some of the criticism coming from opponents, especially from the NDP, that there were not enough consultations on AI data centres.
“The Opposition, when they talk about consultation, it's not actually for consultation,” Harrison said. It's to obstruct and stop the project from happening. So you know what? We have broad support across the province, across the region for what we're doing here, representing elected representatives who are here speaking on carney behalf of their constituents, which I think reflects the broad support that exists out there.”
Carney enthused about NexGen’s Rook 1 Uranium project
The announcements this week in Saskatchewan coincided with the major announcement in Fort McMurray between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith: that the Pacific Link pipeline to the West Coast has been designated a project of national importance.
In an exclusive one on one interview with Harvard Media’s Jon Tupper in Fort McMurray, Carney spoke about another major project that just broke ground 100 km to the east in Saskatchewan: the Rook 1 uranium project by NexGen Energy.
The official groundbreaking took place in August for the 2.2-billion uranium mine project. Once it is up and running about four years from now, it could produce approximately 30 million pounds of uranium annually, according to NexGen.
Carney pointed to that project as being one that is itself nationally important.
“Canada has what the world wants and the world wants to do more with Canada,” Carney said.
“One of the areas is in critical metals and minerals, uranium being front and centre. We have signed 50 deals worth more than $20 billion in the last 12 months around the world to diversify our partners.”
The NexGen project, Carney told Tupper, is “one of the projects of national interest that we're advancing. So this is a huge opportunity for Saskatchewan, for Canada as a whole.”
Secondly, Carney said, as a general point “anything that connects our provinces and our country together better, we're behind.”
“So interties between the electricity grids in Alberta and BC, that's part of the MOU with Alberta actually, is to develop part of the MOU with BC, so both of them coming together.
“Same opportunity exists with Saskatchewan. Ultimately, if you're one of the biggest uranium producers in the world, Saskatchewan government, not surprisingly, has big ambitions for nuclear — huge opportunity for them, but also for Alberta. So anything that links together.”
Carmey also voiced his support for “linking, seamless movements of workers across this country, people with skilled workers with the trades, being able to get up and work anywhere they want, and we're going to need that more and more.”
– With files from Jon Tupper
