Photo: Premiere Scott Moe Bell Expansion Announcement September 14, 2026 / Photo screenshot from CPAC
By Nicole Goldsworthy
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
SaskToday.ca
Northern Saskatchewan residents should not expect Bell’s massive AI data centre to bring construction jobs directly to their communities, but Energy and Resources Minister Chris Beaudry says workers could pursue jobs associated with the project and SaskTel customers could eventually see new services.
Bell’s planned expansion near Regina could ultimately create an AI infrastructure hub with up to 1.2 gigawatts of capacity. The provincial government describes the project as more than $50 billion in estimated capital investment, including a phased expansion of up to 900 megawatts.
Beaudry told SaskToday, “There are going to be 280 to 500 operational jobs and 100 management jobs because Bell is moving their AI Fabric head office to Regina.”
The province projects 800 to 1,200 construction jobs. Once the development reaches its planned 1,200-megawatt capacity, it is expected to support up to 500 jobs in data centre operations and power generation. About 100 management positions are also planned for the Bell AI Fabric headquarters, while the province estimates as many as 3,000 additional jobs could be created in areas such as security, logistics and maintenance.
For many people who may be unfamiliar with data centres, Beaudry compared their role with servers already used to move and store information generated online.
“Every time you send a WhatsApp message, you post a photo on Facebook, you look at a reel on Instagram, or you tweet a tweet on X, that information is moving somewhere,” he said. “It’s going through some type of server and is being stored.”
Beaudry also connected the issue to rural Saskatchewan, where he said agricultural data has become valuable to businesses.
“We live in an agricultural community. Ag data has been used as a commodity now for 15 to 20 years,” Beaudry said. “That data is a value to them because they can build a plan.”
He argued that having Canadian-owned data infrastructure could help keep Canadian data in Canada.
“Do we want our data … stored by a Canadian company, a Canadian proponent inside Saskatchewan, stored here, creating value for Saskatchewan people?” he said.
Provincial information released with the announcement says SaskTel will support customer access to available services. Subject to technical readiness and commercial arrangements, Bell would also set aside up to 10 megawatts of wholesale capacity for SaskTel as part of the expansion.
Energy is another potential connection to Saskatchewan’s resource economy.
The original 300-megawatt project will remain connected to the provincial grid, while Bell would be responsible for providing up to another 900 megawatts under the province’s Bring Your Own Power principle.
Beaudry said Bell is choosing natural gas for that additional power and would be responsible for the expansion’s additional power requirements.
“The Bring Your Own Power means Bell has to pay for the construction and operation of their 900 megawatts of power,” Beaudry said. “So Saskatchewan ratepayers are not subsidizing the project and will not be paying any more for power because of this project.”
The provincial announcement similarly says Bell is responsible for bringing forward up to 900 megawatts of additional capacity as the development grows.
Beaudry also said there is no provincial funding being provided to Bell for the project.
“This is fully funded by Bell,” he said.
Construction of the initial 300-megawatt data centre is already underway. The larger expansion is planned as a phased development that could eventually take the project to 1.2 gigawatts.
For Beaudry, the broader argument for the development comes back to Canadian control of data.
“Our data has a value. It’s a commodity,” he said. “We have to make a choice … who would we want controlling that commodity?”