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The Bell AI data centre being built in the Rural Municipality of Sherwood – originally set to be a 300 MW facility –is now set to quadruple in size up to 1.2 GW, becoming the new Bell AI Fabric Headquarters.
The move is expected to bring more than $50 billion in capital investment.
The province called it the single-largest private sector capital investment in Canada’s history.
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The announcement was made in Toronto, Ont. during the Canada Investment Summit on Monday afternoon by Bell Canada CEO Mirko Bibic.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Prime Minister Mark Carney also spoke.
“Throughout our (Canadian) history, we have built to secure our sovereignty, to shape our destiny and to determine our own future,” Moe said. Referencing Canadian builders, Moe said that mandate was fulfilled 150 years ago by constructing a railroad that spanned the continent.
“Today, the infrastructure has changed but the purpose has not,” Moe stated.
He said more and more of Canadians’ data is being stored in data centres, and repeated his contention that it should be stored on Canadian soil, subject to Canadian laws.
“In Canada and in Saskatchewan, we have made our choice,” Moe said. “We will protect what is ours.”
At the announcement, Carney said it would be the largest sovereign AI infrastructure in Canada. As it stood before the expansion was announced, it was reported the two largest customers for the data centre were going to be two American companies.
At last month’s announcement of the provincial government’s AI data centre guidelines, John Watson, Bell Group President, explained that he’d worn out his shoe leather having meetings to build a group of people in Canada who want sovereign AI data services.
“The demand is not yet there. We have a number of Canadian customers who’ve come on deck, the consumption requirements are less,” said Watson.
He said a large portion of the centre was secured for sovereign workloads, and they’re just getting started.
Data centre concerns addressed
The 300 MW project has garnered a fair amount of opposition in Regina and the RM of Sherwood, with concerns about the impact.
On Monday, Moe said there are some fair questions about data centres and offered answers to some of them.
The original project had the data centre getting its 300 megawatts of power from the provincial grid. The expansion will have Bell providing its own power for the extra 900 megawatts.
Bell’s website said the power will be generated with natural gas, to be developed by an “experienced operating partner.”
SaskPower’s general rule is that one MW is enough to power 1,000 homes, though including industrial use its current peak record power use is 3,910 MW.
Moe said, like the original plan, the expansion will also use a closed-loop water cooling system.
A Bell hub in Saskatchewan
The expansion will see the headquarters for Bell AI Fabric established in the Regina area and create thousands of jobs, according to a statement from the province, “while positioning Saskatchewan as a national leader in artificial intelligence, data sovereignty and secure, reliable energy.”
“This is going to be our anchor campus and we’re going to use Saskatchewan as our hub for our national ecosystem,” Bibic explained.
The original project was set to create about 80 permanent full-time jobs once the project was completed. Bell said the expansion would bring that up to 500 permanent jobs, between data centre operations and power generation, with another 3,000 more in security, logistics and maintenance.
With the hub being the headquarters for Bell AI Fabric, about 100 management positions would also be created, the province estimated.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said during the announcement that Canadians have a tone encouraging building and control over the future, together.
“This is a fantastic example of this. It is going to deliver prosperity, it is going to keep control of the most important things in our lives,” Carney said, calling the expansion a win for Canadians and Saskatchewan.
Addressing Moe and people in Saskatchewan, Carney said the province has “fed the world, from canola to wheat to potash and beyond” and “you fuel the world.”
“Now, you’re building the frontier and with the same values.”
Crown Investments Corporation Minister Jeremy Harrison said the historic $52-billion expansion is one of the largest in private-sector investments in the province’s history “and a powerful endorsement” of Saskatchewan’s economic potential.
“Bell’s decision to invest at this scale reflects confidence in Saskatchewan as a place to do business, grow and succeed. This investment will create jobs, drive economic activity and deliver long-term benefits for communities across our province,” he said, adding that projects of this size strengthen Saskatchewan as a leading destination for Canadian investment where the province is creating conditions for growth and building long-term prosperity.
The Government of Saskatchewan approved the expansion under its Data Centre Framework, which was released in August and sets out six principles for major data centre investments in the province: Canadian ownership and Canadian headquarters, data sovereignty, local jobs and partnerships, operating experience, “Bring Your Own Power” and centralized provincial intake through Crown Investments Corporation and the Ministry of Trade and Export Development.
