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Telecom giant Bell Canada plans to build an “AI data centre campus” south of Regina, according to documents filed with the Rural Municipality of Sherwood.
The documents filed with the RM of Sherwood propose rezoning a parcel of land measuring approximately 160 acres (65 hectares).
The rezoning would allow for the construction of a planned artificial intelligence data centre, rather than an agricultural use.
A detailed design of the campus was not submitted to the RM, but a “fully approved detailed design” will need to be submitted prior to any development approval, according to the report presented to the municipality.
Although the application was submitted by a numbered company, other details in letters of support included as part of the application package make it clear the proposed campus is part of the Bell AI Fabric project announced in 2025.
That project aims to build six AI facilities located in British Columbia as well as other facilities across the country.
CBC reached out to Bell for comment but had not received a response prior to publication.
The parcel of land where Bell Canada is planning to build an AI data centre campus is highlighted in yellow. (Rural Municipality of Sherwood)
According to a submission by the numbered company, the data centre campus “will serve as critical digital infrastructure for research, provincial AI enablement and federal/protected industries.”
The application makes the case that the campus will create a significant — but unspecified — number of high-skilled construction jobs, as well as permanent technical, operations and support positions.
The application highlights a plan for “300 plus” parking stalls, suggesting the workforce could be large.
The campus will include a SaskPower substation to provide the required power for the data centre, as well as an unspecified number of “interconnected low-rise data centre buildings.”
The project will be built in multiple phases, and will include a potential research partnership with the University of Regina for a “sustainable development of greenhouses that reclaim heat generated by the data centres,” according to the application.
It will also be designed to “meet or exceed” all environmental and regulatory requirements.
Phase 1 of the project will involve constructing an 8,500-square-metre building, “which we expect to expedite in 2026,” the application reads.
Other government agencies, universities weigh in
The City of Regina has been made aware of the proposal, and waived a requirement for a concept and secondary plan for the rezoning application, according to the package of documents.
The Water Security Agency, SaskTel and the Ministry of Highways did not raise any concerns with the proposed zoning changes, the documents indicate.
Dan MacKay, the provost of Saskatchewan Polytechnic, endorsed the proposed rezoning for the project in a letter to the RM of Sherwood.
The post-secondary institution is currently in the process of negotiating a memorandum of understanding with Bell, MacKay writes.
The significance of a project of this scale being developed in Saskatchewan “should not be understated,” his letter said.
The University of Regina, which is adjacent to the proposed data centre location, also endorsed the zoning changes.
The university stands to benefit from the data centre’s construction, according to a letter from Chris Yost, the university’s vice-president of research.
Yost’s letter calls the centre “an opportunity to advance research, education and commercialization work.”
