Bell Canada has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Saskatchewan that could pave the way for one of the largest infrastructure buildouts in the province’s history: a phased expansion of AI computing capacity for a Saskatchewan AI hub worth as much as $52.5 billion.
The agreement, announced this week, is non-binding, but it sets out a path for Bell to add up to 900 megawatts of new capacity to its Bell AI Fabric network in Saskatchewan. Combined with existing capacity, that expansion could eventually create a 1.2-gigawatt AI infrastructure hub, the largest capital investment ever undertaken in the province, according to both Bell and the federal government.
What the Saskatchewan AI hub would include
The total figure covers data centre construction, tenant computing capacity and the power generation needed to run it. Bell says it intends to work with local suppliers, Indigenous partners and post-secondary institutions as the project develops, with an eye toward building regional skills and supply chains rather than importing them wholesale.
Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada, framed the project as part of a national shift toward domestically controlled computing power. “Canada’s next generation of economic growth will be built on Canadian infrastructure,” Bibic said, adding that the plan would give “governments, businesses, researchers and innovators the secure, sovereign foundation they need to deploy AI at scale and compete globally.”
Jobs and economic impact figures vary by source
Estimates of the employment impact differ depending on how the numbers are compiled. Ontario Construction News, citing Bell’s own statement, reported that construction, engineering and technical work would support between 800 and 1,200 temporary positions, with up to 600 permanent operations and management jobs once the hub is running. It added that a data centre of this scale could generate as many as 3,000 further offsite and community jobs, based on patterns seen in other markets.
Separately, the federal government has cited a flat total of 4,500 jobs tied to the project, a figure repeated in reporting from Traders Union and Diplo. The dossier does not reconcile these two ways of counting, so the exact employment picture remains somewhat unclear.
Part of a larger federal push on data centres
Ottawa is positioning the Saskatchewan project as one piece of a much larger national strategy. Federal officials say they are working with provinces, energy providers and technology companies to explore as much as six gigawatts of additional data centre capacity across Canada, backed by more than $100 billion in potential investment nationwide.
The government argues Canada has structural advantages for this kind of buildout, including a relatively clean and affordable power supply, a stable regulatory environment, existing construction capacity and a cooler climate that eases data centre cooling costs. Officials say expanding domestic computing capacity will let Canadian businesses, researchers and government bodies rely on AI, health care, financial and other digital systems that remain under Canadian law rather than foreign jurisdiction.
Any future projects, the government says, will be shaped by further consultation with nearby communities, including Indigenous Peoples, and are expected to follow Canada’s Responsible Data Centre Development Principles. That framework asks developers to avoid pushing electricity costs onto ordinary consumers, limit water use and environmental impact, disclose local effects, and demonstrate clear strategic value to the country.
For now, the Saskatchewan hub exists only as a signed intention rather than a construction commitment. What comes next depends on further engagement between Bell, the province, and the communities that would host the buildout.
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