Bell AI Fabric Expands National Network with 300 MW Data Centre in Saskatchewan

Bell Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan announced a transformational step forward for Bell AI Fabric and for Canada's AI future: a new 300 MW data centre in the Rural Municipality of Sherwood, Saskatchewan, just outside of Regina. This major investment aligns with Bell's strategic priority to lead in enterprise with AI-powered solutions and will significantly increase Canada's domestic compute capacity while supporting Saskatchewan's long-term economic growth and diversification.

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

Over time, the facility is projected to generate economic value of up to $12 billion for the province, including short- and long-term job creation, tax revenues and broader economic benefits. Construction will support at least 800 jobs in the trades and engineering, with a minimum of 80 full-time roles created once the facility is fully operational. Based on industry research, as many as 750 additional community jobs could result from a large data centre deployment of this nature.

Construction is scheduled to begin this spring. The facility will come online in stages, with individual data halls entering service on a rolling basis. The first stage is expected to come online in the first half of 2027.

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 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.

The new facility will serve as a regional hub for advanced compute capabilities, expanding Canada's AI ecosystem while generating significant economic benefits for Saskatchewan.

Cerebras and CoreWeave are secured as the tenants for the new facility. Cerebras will provide AI Fabric customers access to its revolutionary wafer-scale technology, which will deliver large-scale, high-performance AI inference and training capacity. CoreWeave will deliver cutting-edge, scalable AI compute hosted on NVIDIA GPUs.

As part of the partnership with the provincial government, Bell will support strategic AI use cases for Saskatchewan postsecondary institutions, municipalities and the public sector. Bell will also explore opportunities for collaboration with students and faculty from Saskatchewan Polytechnic and the University of Regina.

Bell has entered into an agreement with the George Gordon First Nation with a focus on Indigenous procurement participation and workforce development.

Consistent with all Bell AI Fabric data centre builds, the project uses a closed-loop cooling system that does not draw from municipal water resources. Additionally, advanced discussions are underway regarding a district energy system that would enable waste heat reuse on nearby university campuses and in a development project led by George Gordon Developments Ltd., located directly north of the site.

"Bell is drawing on its historic roots as a Canadian technology leader and nation builder through ambitious projects like Bell AI Fabric, by building a digital backbone to power the future of the Canadian economy. Today's announcement is an exciting illustration of the impact of Bell's strategic priority to lead in enterprise with AI-powered solutions. Our largest-ever investment in Saskatchewan will deliver the cutting-edge, high-performance compute necessary to innovate at speed, bring major economic benefits to the province and create a competitive advantage for our country. We're thrilled to partner with the Government of Saskatchewan to ensure Canada can compete and win in the AI economy."

- Mirko Bibic, President & CEO, BCE and Bell Canada

"The announcement of this facility is great news for Saskatchewan's economy. This investment by Bell will create jobs, strengthen provincial research capacity, and facilitate the creation of new businesses built on advanced capabilities."

- The Honourable Scott Moe, Premier of Saskatchewan

"AI is becoming foundational national infrastructure. Countries want AI systems that are fast, energy-efficient, and sovereign by design, and partnering with Bell allows us to bring industry-leading AI compute to Canada in a way that aligns with these national priorities."

- Andrew Feldman, CEO and Co-founder, Cerebras

"Canada has an extraordinary AI ecosystem, and expanding access to advanced compute will help unlock new opportunities for innovation, economic growth and scientific discovery. We're excited to work with Bell AI Fabric to deliver the high-performance AI infrastructure researchers, enterprises and developers need to innovate at scale."

- Sachin Jain, Chief Operating Officer, CoreWeave

"On behalf of George Gordon Developments, the business arm of George Gordon First Nation, we are excited to partner with Bell AI Fabric on this major economic project. George Gordon First Nation has a history of working with industry leaders to ensure long-term mutual benefits that lead to measurable community outcomes while respecting our treaty rights, cultural protocols and environmental stewardship. George Gordon First Nation will support and collaborate directly with Bell Canada to ensure the success of this project for the members of George Gordon First Nation and the Province of Saskatchewan." 

- Shawn R. Longman, Chief, George Gordon First Nation

Source: Bell Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan media announcement