Bell and the Saskatchewan government announced Monday a non-binding agreement that could add up to 900 megawatts of capacity to the AI data centre being built in the Rural Municipality of Sherwood. The expansion would quadruple the project’s planned capacity from 300 megawatts to as much as 1.2 gigawatts. Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck described the expanded project as a “hyperscale” data centre and said its development has moved forward without adequate public consultation. The NDP is calling for a moratorium on large-scale data centre developments while seeking answers from the provincial government about the potential impacts of projects of this size. Beck also raised questions about environmental assessments for the expansion, given the original project was planned as a 300-megawatt facility. “What precedent does that set? If the way to get around environmental assessment concerns is to just plow ahead with a project without doing environmental assessments,” she said. “I think at some point that does not pass a head nod test with people in the province of Saskatchewan, nor should it anywhere.” The concerns around power bills, water usage, data sovereignty protection, and the broader environmental impacts are being raised by the NDP, but there are other effects to the job market due to the increased size of the site. The expanded project is expected to create up to 500 permanent jobs an additional 3,000 jobs through security, logistics and maintenance, as well as 100 Bell AI Fabric jobs at a facility to be built within the site. Regina-Wascana Conservative MP Michael Kram welcomed the potential for more technology jobs in the province. “I remember a time when people moved away from Saskatchewan for opportunities in information technology so its exiting to see that hub finally happening here in Regina and southern Saskatchewan and I would love to see that grow and continue.” he said. While permanent jobs are still some time away, the project is already creating construction, security and logistical activity in the surrounding area. The first data hall is expected to be operational in the first half of 2027, while the timeline and space requirements for the additional 900 megawatts of capacity remain unclear. CTV News is a division of Bell Media which is a subsidiary of B-C-E.
