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BCE Inc. says it’s quadrupling the size of its planned artificial intelligence data centre in Saskatchewan to 1.2 gigawatts by building three additional facilities.
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The project, Bell AI Fabric, at full buildout, including data centre infrastructure and related power generation, could exceed $50 billion in “capital investment and economic activity,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a speech on Monday.
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The Montreal-based company said the buildout could create up to 600 permanent operations and management roles and support up to 1,200 construction, engineering and technical jobs.
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It has already started construction on the $1.7-billion, 300-megawatt data centre in Sherwood, Sask., which was announced in March.
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Bell’s data centre expansion is set to be the largest capital investment in Saskatchewan’s history and the biggest sovereign AI infrastructure network in Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in the announcement.
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Here’s how Bell’s plans stack up against some of Canada’s proposed major AI data centre projects.
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Kevin O’Leary’s Wonder Valley
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Canadian investor and reality television personality Kevin O’Leary in December 2024 announced plans to build the world’s largest AI data centre and industrial park in the northwest district of Greenview, Alta.
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He said the proposed $70-billion, nine-GW project will cover 64 square kilometres once it is complete. Its first phase will focus on building 1.4 GW at an estimated cost of $12 billion.
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The Alberta government waived an environmental impact assessment for the project, but some First Nations and environmental groups have raised concerns over its potential water usage and lack of consultations with Indigenous communities. Wonder Valley is in the process of obtaining necessary permits before it can move forward.
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A Meta play in Alberta
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Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms Inc. will invest more than $13 billion in Alberta to build a one-GW data centre, which is set to become one of the largest private-sector investments in Canadian history.
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Meta said the Sturgeon County data centre, which will be its largest outside the United States, will annually generate $250 million in benefits for Albertans while creating more than 3,000 construction jobs and supporting 300 operational jobs.
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It also said it will invest $60 million in local road and water infrastructure improvements. The project will be powered by the Greenlight Electricity Centre, a Pembina Pipeline Corp. natural gas power plant.
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Microsoft’s push
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Microsoft Corp. said it will invest $19 billion in Canada between 2023 and 2027 to build new cloud and AI infrastructure as part of a global push, with $7.5 billion of that sum to be spent in 2026 and 2027.
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Microsoft is expanding computing capacity at its key Canadian data centre regions in Ontario and Quebec, including building a new facility in Vaughn, Ont., that will be the size of 15 hockey rinks as part of that investment.