- Bell to add 900MW of capacity to its 300MW data center in Saskatchewan
- The province requires large data centers to provide their own energy
- Saskatchewan has 30+ data center applications being reviewed
Canadian telecom giant Bell and one of the country's provinces, Saskatchewan, have just signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to build out the country's biggest-ever data center.
Next up will be the formalization of a CA$50 billion commitment, with plans to add up to 900MW of new capacity to the 300MW facility, bringing the total up to 1.2GW, an increase of 4x.
If plans proceed, it would become the largest capital investment ever in the province's history, making Saskatchewan Canada's biggest AI hub.
Saskatchewan set to become Canada's biggest AI hub
One of the biggest hurdles the project faces is power, because while the 300MW development draws power from the grid, the additional 900MW will need to be self-sourced.
Saskatchewan recently introduced new rules for large data center developments whereby they must bring their own power, rather than put additional pressure on local infrastructure.
Subsequently, power generation will likely account for a large proportion of the CA$50 billion investment, with Bell exploring a natural gas facilities with a third-party partner.
The campus is also set to use closed-loop cooling to further reduce its resource consumption, taming local pressures and potential opposition.
Around 500-600 data center jobs will likely come out of the project, per Bell's and Saskatchewan's figures, but further construction, logistics and security roles will also be supported throughout the various stages.
As for the initial 300MW buildout which started construction in April 2026, Bell anticipates it to start opening throughout 2027.
As for the site's relevance, Saskatchewan is emerging as a hub for data center projects, with the province now evaluating more than 30 development applications, per August 2026 reporting.
"By creating a path to 1.2 GW of AI capacity in Saskatchewan, Bell AI Fabric will give governments, businesses, researchers and innovators the secure, sovereign foundation they need to deploy AI at scale and compete globally," CEO Mirko Bibic added.
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