Canada’s AI computing capacity will continue to grow with the announcements that Bell Canada and HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. are expanding their data centre footprints in western Canada.

Bell Canada announced with the government of Saskatchewan that Bell AI Fabric will build a 300 MW (megawatts) data centre in Sherwood, just outside of Regina. Bell Canada said this will be the largest purpose-built AI data centre in Canada.

Bell AI Fabric is a secure Canadian AI ecosystem designed for high-density AI workloads, while ensuring data stays in Canada. It already operates data centres in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

This data centre “aligns with Bell's strategic priority to lead in enterprise with AI-powered solutions and will significantly increase Canada's domestic compute capacity while supporting Saskatchewan's long-term economic growth and diversification,” the firm stated in the announcement Monday morning.

Construction is scheduled to begin this spring. The data centre will come online in stages, with individual data halls entering service on a rolling basis. The first stage is expected to come online in the first half of 2027 and will be connected to Bell’s national fibre network in partnership with SaskTel. 

The facility will be linked to Bell's national fibre backbone through a partnership with SaskTel. Together, Bell and SaskTel will work together to offer AI-powered products and solutions to SaskTel customers.

Expanding Canada’s AI capacity

"Bell is drawing on its historic roots as a Canadian technology leader and nation builder through ambitious projects like Bell AI Fabric, by building a digital backbone to power the future of the Canadian economy,” said Mirko Bibic, president and CEO with BCE and Bell Canada, in the release. “Today's announcement is an exciting illustration of the impact of Bell's strategic priority to lead in enterprise with AI-powered solutions.

"Our largest-ever investment in Saskatchewan will deliver the cutting-edge, high-performance compute necessary to innovate at speed, bring major economic benefits to the province and create a competitive advantage for our country.”

"The announcement of this facility is great news for Saskatchewan's economy,” added Scott Moe, premier of Saskatchewan in the same release. “This investment by Bell will create jobs, strengthen provincial research capacity, and facilitate the creation of new businesses built on advanced capabilities."

HIVE to expand DC capacity

HIVE Digital Technologies, meanwhile, already operates data centres in New Brunswick, Quebec, British Columbia and Manitoba. The firm announced it is expanding its liquid-cooled AI data centre capacity in Manitoba and British Columbia, growing its BUZZ HPC Sovereign AI Compute offering.

The data centres operate on Bell Canada AI Fabric infrastructure.

The facility in British Columbia will provide an immediate five MW of capacity with an option to scale an additional 7.6 MW. This allows for the deployment of upwards of 2,000 next-generation high-power density AI-optimized GPUs in British Columbia, complementing the capacity for approximately 2,000 GPUs in BUZZ's existing Manitoba facility. 

HIVE now has a near-term ramp to over 4,000 GPUs in Canada through its data centre partnerships and its own sites, accelerating its announced GPU AI cloud deployment targets for 2026.

"Nations that control their own AI compute will lead the next era of global innovation. Canada has the talent, the energy, and now, with BUZZ, the infrastructure to compete at the highest level," said Frank Holmes, executive chairman of HIVE in a press release.

"Since 2017, HIVE has demonstrated the ability to build, scale, and operate complex digital infrastructure with consistency and rigor across nine time zones and three continents. We are now applying that same discipline to AI."