Bell Canada Plans Ten-Year Expansion of Saskatchewan AI Data Center with 900 MW Added

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 14, Bell Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to add up to 900 MW of AI data center capacity in the province in phases, expanding the planned total capacity of Bell AI Fabric in Saskatchewan to 1.2 GW. The additional capacity will be developed in phases as customer demand is secured and is subject to commercial agreements, permits, approvals, and relevant environmental assessments.

The project builds on the initial 300 MW data center plan announced by Bell in March of this year. The first phase is scheduled to begin operations in the first half of 2027; with the addition of 900 MW, the overall scale will expand to four times the original plan. Bell expects the additional capacity to be brought into service progressively over the next 10 years.

The additional 900 MW of capacity is planned to be powered by partner-built natural gas generation facilities, without relying on the local public power grid. The data center will be equipped with a closed-loop cooling system and will not use municipal water supply. Construction will be implemented in phases in accordance with Saskatchewan's data center development framework and relevant approval requirements.

The total capital investment for the project announced by the Government of Saskatchewan is estimated at more than CAD 50 billion. A formal investment amount for the additional 900 MW portion has not been separately announced; based on industry analysis using the approximately CAD 1.7 billion construction cost of the initial 300 MW, the capital expenditure corresponding to the additional capacity could be approximately CAD 5.1 billion. This figure is an analyst estimate and not a project budget published by Bell.

Bell AI Fabric was launched in 2025, and Bell currently has AI infrastructure deployed in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Upon completion of this expansion, the Saskatchewan project will become the largest single-capacity node in its Canadian AI infrastructure system. Bell also plans to locate the national ecosystem headquarters of Bell AI Fabric in Saskatchewan.

This expansion by Bell adopts an infrastructure leasing model, primarily building data center buildings, power, and cooling infrastructure, and providing rack capacity to customers, without directly procuring and operating all the GPU computing equipment required by customers.