Saskatchewan’s Crown investments minister stood Thursday in front of a skeleton of steel beams to tout progress on an artificial intelligence mega facility, while the Opposition again called on the province to consult first, then build.
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Opposition → stand → province
“We have just an amazing thing going on here behind us,” Jeremy Harrison told reporters at the site, southeast of Regina.
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Harrison → have → Regina
Harrison and Bell Canada held a news conference at the company’s 65-hectare site.
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Harrison → hold → site
Behind them, construction crews moved heavy equipment.
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crews → move → equipment
Framing is done for three of four data halls.
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Framing → do → halls
Paneling for one wall is also nearing completion.
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Paneling → near → completion
Surrounding the structures are dozens of trailers, stacks of steel pipes and piles of dirt.
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dozens → surround → dirt
Security cameras keep an electronic eye on comings and goings.
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cameras → keep → comings
Harrison said there are 500 workers on the site at any given time.
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Harrison → say → time
John Watson, group president with Bell, told reporters the first two halls are set to start operating in the first half of next year.
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halls → tell → year
Bell also has its sights set on expansion.
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sights → have → expansion
It plans to quadruple the size to 1.2 gigawatts, which would cost $50 billion and require a dedicated natural gas plant.
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which → plan → plant
Watson said there are no timelines on when the expansion would happen.
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expansion → say → ?
“It needs to be probably twice as large as this one,” he said.
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he → need → one
Bell and the province are promising the expansion would produce bigger economic benefits.
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expansion → promise → benefits
Harrison said it could support 500 permanent jobs at the site, plus up to 3,000 off site and community jobs.
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it → say → site
Bell would also move its AI fabric headquarters to Regina, he said, which would add 100 management jobs to the city.
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which → move → city
Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski said the project would make the province a hub for innovation and growth.
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province → say → innovation
“These are the kinds of jobs that will help us retain talented young people (and) attract new workers and families,” he said.
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he → help → workers
Bell has said it plans on partnering with the University of Regina for research, including the possibility of capturing the facility’s heat for greenhouses.
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it → say → greenhouses
The centre has met with public pushback.
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centre → meet → pushback
There have been protests this past year, with critics saying they worry about how the megaproject will affect the environment and electricity grid.
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megaproject → say → environment
They’ve also taken issue with what they say is a lack of public consultation, as the project was quickly approved.
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project → take → consultation
Asked if the province should hold town hall meetings about the centre, Harrison said people already support it.
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people → ask → it
“Elected representatives are here speaking on behalf of their constituents, which I think reflects the broad support that exists out there,” he said.
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he → speak → support
The Opposition NDP has called on the Saskatchewan Party government to impose a moratorium on large-scale centres, arguing robust consultation isn’t happening.
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consultation → call → centres
Sally Housser, the NDP’s energy critic, told reporters at a separate news conference that the province should be holding town hall meetings.
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province → tell → meetings
“I think that is the most basic thing, particularly around the areas that are most affected,” she said.
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she → think → areas
“People have genuine concerns about how this is going to affect their power bills, how this is going to affect the area they live in.”
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they → have → area
Watson has said the data centre won’t use groundwater but rather a closed-loop system, where a fluid continuously runs through it for cooling.
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fluid → say → cooling
Bell also said the facility won’t cause power rates to increase.
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rates → say → ?
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2026.
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report → publish → Press
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