A pathway to a 1.2-gigawatt Canadian AI infrastructure hub anchors Bell Canada’s newly expanded data centre plans in Saskatchewan, positioning the province as a national leader in artificial intelligence and data sovereignty.
Two power streams add up to that 1.2-gigawatt target. The 300 megawatts already drawn from the provincial grid stays in place, and on top of it Bell plans a phased build of up to 900 megawatts that the company will supply itself under Saskatchewan’s Bring Your Own Power principle.
Near Regina, the undertaking now carries an estimated capital investment of more than $50 billion, quadrupling a previously announced project and ranking among the largest private-sector investments in the province’s history. Chief Executive Mirko Bibic announced the expansion alongside Premier Scott Moe at Canada’s first national investment summit in Toronto, where Prime Minister Mark Carney and former prime ministers Jean Chretien and Stephen Harper were also present.
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On the employment side, Bell expects up to 500 permanent positions tied to data centre operations and power generation, plus an estimated 3,000 additional jobs spanning security, logistics and maintenance. Roughly 100 management roles will be based at a Regina-area headquarters for Bell AI Fabric.
Keeping Canadian data at home, stored by a Canadian company and protected under Canadian rules, is how Moe framed the investment. Crown Investments Corporation Minister Jeremy Harrison put the figure at $52 billion and described it as a powerful endorsement of the province’s economic potential.
Saskatchewan’s Data Centre Framework, released in August, cleared the project. That framework sets six principles for major investments, among them Canadian ownership, data sovereignty and local partnerships.
The Canada Investment Summit, launched with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, aims to catalyze $1 trillion in total investment across the next five years.
