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The new 300-megawatt artificial intelligence (AI) data centre being built outside of Regina will feature an agreement with a First Nation nearby.
George Gordon First Nation signed a partnership with Bell Canada to focus on “Indigenous procurement participation and workforce development.”
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Construction will begin on the centre the RM of Sherwood this spring, and it will begin working in the first half of 2027.
Chief of George Gordon First Nation, Shawn Longman, said he is excited for the opportunity the partnership brings.
“I believe it’s going to be key to education and it’s going to streamline a lot of processes that normally take days and weeks and months,” he said.
“I’m not saying it is (a) complete solution, but it’s a tool that’s going to help us to narrow things down and help us to focus on what we need to focus on.”
The data centre will be built on land owned by George Gordon First Nation.
Construction on the facility at this site in the RM of Sherwood is expected to begin this spring, with the first stage of the project planned to be up and running in the first half of 2027. (Geoff Smith/980 CJME)
When Longman first became chief, he wanted to find a way band members could attend university classes remotely.
He believes the data centre could help strengthen opportunities for education for the community.
“The project … opens up economic opportunities,” Longman said. “But I believe it also opens educational opportunities.”
The project is being called the “largest purpose-built AI data centre development anywhere in Canada,” and is expected to generate $12 billion of economic value for the province.
Bell Canada said the centre will create 80 full-time jobs in the area, along with an estimated 750 additional economic spinoff jobs. The centre’s construction is expected to provide work for around 800 people.
Don Ross, the CEO of George Gordon Developments Ltd., is hopeful the agreement will benefit band members in the long haul.
“I always say to industry and to government that we don’t have an HR and a labour shortage in this province, we have a commitment shortage,” he said.
“Our people are an untapped labour resource, and I can walk into any First Nations community and find people that want to become apprentices in the trades.”
Ross said it will be consulting how the facility generates heat recovery through the water that’s boiled, and how steam power will be used in communities.
“If there’s a $12 billion investment coming into our traditional territory, then how do we take advantage of the whole 12 billion? That’s exactly what I’m doing right now,” he said.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify the number of jobs expected to be created by the project.
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