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With an AI data centre and its massive expansion going up just a stone’s throw from Regina’s city boundary, one city councillor wants more information on the project.
Sarah Turnbull, Regina city councillor for Ward 5, said no one from the provincial government or the project has come to the city or its council to talk about the data centre.
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“This project is going to be so close and have this effect on our city. It would be nice to know what those impacts are and to be a partner at the table,” Turnbull said.
The first phase of the data centre is already being built in the RM of Sherwood, just kitty-corner from the city’s boundary, near the Saskatchewan Polytechnic campus.
The Bell AI data centre is being built just outside Regina’s southern boundary. (Google Maps)
Turnbull said the project will have an impact on the city, but she doesn’t yet know what that might mean. She pointed to possibilities around air quality due to the natural gas power plant that will be part of the 900 MW expansion in the project’s second phase. She also raised possibilities of impacts to nearby infrastructure like roads, sound from the installation and groundwater impacts.
“I don’t know all the information associated with it, but that’s because we haven’t been at the table,” Turnbull said. “I would know more had they consulted with the city or anyone here.”
In other parts of the world, Turnbull said there have been large negative impacts from AI data centres in surrounding communities, raising questions about the Saskatchewan project.
“Here we are with it happening in our backyard, with no one at the table to speak for us or advocate for us or to make sure that Regina is protected, and that is the most alarming part,” Turnbull explained.
The Bell AI data centre is being built just outside Regina’s city boundaries and it was recently announced it will expand from 300 MW to 1.2 GW in a second phase. (980 CJME file photo)
The councillor said she isn’t necessarily for or against the data centre, explaining that she knows it will bring jobs to the area but noting that there are still many unanswered questions.
Turnbull said she’s working on getting in touch with the provincial government and getting more information for herself and the other councillors.
The original data centre, which was announced in March, was touted as an important step forward for the city, province and Canadian data sovereignty.
On Monday, Premier Scott Moe, Bell Canada CEO Mirko Bibic and Prime Minister Mark Carney announced at a summit in Toronto that the data centre would expand from the 300 MW in the original plan to 1.2 GW – a fourfold expansion.
The Government of Saskatchewan says it and Bell have been engaging with stakeholders through the process, including updating Regina’s mayor, Chad Bachynski, to make sure the city is ready for growth.
