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Construction on a data centre campus on the southeastern outskirts of Regina could begin as early as this year.
Documents filed with the R.M. of Sherwood request rezoning of the site from agricultural to light industrial. The application was requested by a numbered company, but submissions from Saskatchewan Polytechnic and the University of Regina identified the proponent as Bell Canada.
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The rezoning application was to be heard Monday at a special meeting of the R.M.’s council.
The 160-acre property is directly south of the Wascana Golf and Country Club at the southeast corner of Range Road 2194 (Park Street) and Old Highway 16. Access would be from the Fleet Street intersection on the Regina Bypass.
Water is to be supplied using private cisterns, with a private septic system for waste management. A draining design will be required as part of development approval.
In a letter to the R.M., the numbered company proposing the project said it’s being planned in phases, and the project would ultimately consist of several interconnected low-rise data centre buildings totalling around 500,000 square feet, along with administrative buildings adding up to nearly 50,000 square feet.
The area shaded in yellow shows the proposed site for the data centre. (R.M. of Sherwood)
“The facilities will support universities, healthcare, public sector services, and Canadian businesses with secure, made-in-Canada computing capacity, helping to keep sensitive data and innovation within the country,” the letter read.
The company said it expects to expedite the first phase of the project, a 91,000-square-foot building, this year.
The City of Regina said it will waive a concept/secondary plan that would normally be required for the rezoning, because it falls within the Joint Planning Area and Collaborative Planning Area.
Landowners in the area have raised concerns around noise. In a written submission, a group asked for property line noise limits, arguing that even a small amount of noise can have a large impact in a quiet, rural area. They said such a limit would be reasonable and could be achieved through quiet cooling systems, sound-reducing equipment and acoustic barriers.
Neighbours also want to ensure the water supply and proper drainage are taken into account, and that any roads used to access the property are paved in order to accommodate the increase in traffic.
The Water Security Agency said it currently has no concerns about the rezoning, but agency approval will be required for water, wastewater and drainage plans.
Saskatchewan Polytechnic said it supports the application and is negotiating an agreement with Bell AI Fabric around applied research, workforce development, and sustainability.
The University of Regina is also in support of the project and the benefits the school could gain when it comes to research, education and commercialization.
No one from the R.M. of Sherwood could be reached for comment, and Bell Canada did not respond to a request for comment.
SaskTel also interested in data centre potential
The proposal by Bell isn’t the only interest in the possible future of AI data centres in Saskatchewan.
In August 2025, Crown telecom provider SaskTel issued a request for prequalification for a tier-III data centre for artificial intelligence workloads.
The request seeks to find companies that have already built or are building a data centre of a similar type.
In an email, SaskTel said it was investigating the potential of building an AI data centre, but no firm plans have been made.
Mayor ‘excited’ about potential of data centre
Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski said any project that has the potential to create jobs or for the city to provide services is a “very exciting opportunity.”
“I know the location can be very specific to the utilities and those types of things that are required, but I see it as an exciting, exciting thing,” he said.
Bachynski said the city had no concerns about issues like traffic, but couldn’t comment on how it might impact the nearby proposal to connect Prince of Wales Drive to Wascana Parkway.
