Bell Canada, Saskatchewan government partner on data centre project outside Regina

The Government of Saskatchewan has partnered with Bell Canada on a 300 megawatt data centre project just outside of Regina.

Construction on the facility in the RM of Sherwood is expected to begin this spring, with the first stage of the centre expected to be up and running in the first half of 2027.

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“This project is Bell’s largest-ever investment in Saskatchewan – an unprecedented commitment to Saskatchewan’s technology ecosystem that places the province at the centre of Canada’s AI-driven economic growth,” the company and provincial government said in a joint statement.

“Once complete, it will be the largest purpose-built AI data centre development anywhere in Canada.”

The statement said the centre is expected to generate as much as $12 billion in economic value for the province over time through job creation, tax revenues and broader benefits to the economy. There are expected to be about 800 jobs during construction, at least 80 full-time employees once it’s fully up and running, and Bell said as many as 750 additional spinoff jobs could result from the creation of the centre.

“I think (it’s) very much an opportunity and we’re very pleased,” said Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.

The premier kept coming back to Canadian data sovereignty when speaking about the centre.

“It is very much a part of what is going to be very meaningful to not only Canadians, but to Canadian industries that are employing people in community after community, from coast to coast to coast,” said Moe.

He said technology isn’t a separate industry anymore, explaining that it’s involved in almost everything else.

“This (centre), by its very investment, is going to ensure not only the very future of our nation, but it’s going to ensure the industries across the board that are employing people in Canada are going to remain some of the most competitive industries in the nation,” said Moe.

Premier Scott Moe speaks at an event about the new AI data centre, with Bell CEO Mirko Bibic. Mar. 16, 2026 (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

Bell noted the data centre is expected to bring benefits to Canadian governments, researchers and the private sector, as well as SaskTel customers.

“Importantly, a significant portion of the facility’s power will be dedicated to sovereign AI compute, ensuring that government agencies, researchers and enterprises in Canada can access top-tier AI power while guaranteeing their data remains within Canada, meeting strict chain-of-custody and residency requirements,” the joint statement read.

“The facility will be linked to Bell’s national fibre backbone through a partnership with SaskTel. Together, Bell and SaskTel will act as go-to-market partners, offering AI-powered products and solutions to SaskTel customers.”

As part of the partnership with the Government of Saskatchewan, Bell said it will support “strategic AI uses cases” for postsecondary institution, municipalities and the province’s public sector, while also exploring opportunities to work with students and staff at the universities of Saskatchewan and Regina. Bell has also formed an agreement with the George Gordon First Nation “with a focus on Indigenous procurement participation and workforce development.”

Addressing concerns

While some have raised concerns about the data centre’s potential effects on Regina’s water supply, Bell CEO Mirko Bibic, said the centre will use “a closed-loop cooling system” that doesn’t draw from the municipal water supply. Bell noted that “advanced discussions” around recycling the waste heat from the centre are also underway.

“It’s part of a parcel of being very mindful of working with government, enterprise, community leaders and with environmental concerns top of mind, said Birbic.

“And that’s how we’re going to keep scaling Bell AI fabric, being very mindful of the stakeholders. And fundamentally, we want to be at the centre of this, we want to partner with others who want to be at the centre of this and continue to drive growth and productivity, and we’re excited to do this in Saskatchewan.”

The provincial government said Saskatchewan Crown corporations are supporting the project in several ways. SaskPower has already begun work on the transmission connections, while SaskTel’s fibre optic network will connect to the facility and SaskEnergy will develop the gas infrastructure for Bell’s on-site power generation, including the creation of a new high-pressure pipeline and a high-volume meter station.

Minister responsible for SaskPower, Jeremy Harrison, said Saskatchewan is in a unique position because it’s one of only a few provinces which has the power to spare to be able to host such a project.

“We had literally a lineup of proponents seeking to partner with the Government of Saskatchewan – Bell have been a preferred partner,” said Harrison.

He said this is a large new customer for SaskPower and could mitigate provincial power costs.

The premier said the provincial government has had conversations about being careful which projects are allocated power, and how the provincial power supply is built out. He said there were a number of proposals for data centres, but Bell’s was different because it was looking to bring services to Saskatchewan companies, data sovereignty, and bring careers to the Regina area.

EDR pleased

John Bailey, CEO of Economic Development Regina, said he’s pleased to see the data centre being developed close to the city.

“I think it’s a good news story, because it does show that Regina is open for business,” he told the Evan Bray Show. “A lot of those jobs are going to go to folks in our community, so that’s a really positive thing.”

Bailey said his organization will work on collecting more information to help City of Regina staff and administration make informed decisions going forward.