Bell to build $12B AI data centre in Saskatchewan

Key Takeaways:

• Bell Canada will build Canada’s largest AI data centre in the Rural Municipality of Sherwood, Saskatchewan, with construction starting this spring and operations expected by early 2027, generating an estimated $12 billion in economic value.
• The facility will house Bell’s sovereign AI cloud, keeping Canadian data within the country, and will be powered by SaskPower with a closed-loop cooling system that avoids drawing from municipal water sources.
• The project is expected to create over 1,630 jobs in total, including 800+ during construction and 80 permanent positions, with community partnerships planned with George Gordon First Nation and local post-secondary institutions.

The Whole Story:

Bell Canada will construct a 90,000-square-foot data centre in the Rural Municipality of Sherwood, a project expected to generate up to $12 billion in economic value and position Saskatchewan as a national leader in sovereign AI infrastructure, the Government of Saskatchewan announced Monday.

Construction is slated to begin this spring, with the facility expected to become Canada’s largest of its kind once powered up in early 2027. The centre will house Bell’s sovereign AI cloud, reserving significant compute capacity for Canadian workloads.

The project underscores Saskatchewan’s pivot toward attracting data centre and knowledge-economy businesses as part of its net-zero energy strategy, which the province outlined in fall 2025.

“This investment by Bell Canada will create jobs, strengthen provincial research capacity and facilitate the creation of new businesses built on advanced capabilities,” Premier Scott Moe said in a statement.

During construction, more than 800 jobs are expected across trades. The facility will support a minimum of 80 permanent operational positions, plus an estimated 750 spin-off jobs, for a total of at least 1,630 jobs.

Power will be supplied by SaskPower, with the first phase of transmission interconnection expected complete by end of 2026. SaskEnergy will develop natural gas infrastructure for on-site backup and peak-demand generation, including a new high-pressure pipeline and meter station. SaskTel’s fibre optic network will provide connectivity to Bell’s national backbone.

The data centre will use a closed-loop cooling system that does not draw from municipal water. Bell is exploring internship and apprenticeship partnerships with post-secondary institutions and workforce development opportunities with George Gordon First Nation, including potential reuse of waste heat from the facility.

“Bell’s largest-ever investment in Saskatchewan will deliver the high-performance compute necessary to innovate at speed, creating a competitive advantage for the province and the country,” Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada, said in a statement.

Crown Investment Corporation Minister Jeremy Harrison called the project “truly historic,” noting that once operational, “it will be the largest facility of its kind in Canada.”