The Government of Saskatchewan says it’s prioritizing Canadian ownership and furthering Canadian data sovereignty with its new policy on data centre developments. “The reality is that AI is here, and it will play a significant role in our lives and our economy,” Minister Jeremy Harrison told reporters Thursday. “The real question is where the infrastructure that powers AI will be built and whose laws will govern it.” Harrison made the announcement at the site of Bell Canada’s AI data centre near Regina. The province identified six key principles guiding its policy. In addition to domestic ownership and sovereignty, the policy includes the creation of Saskatchewan jobs, industry experience, a centralized provincial intake process and self-supplied power generation. ‘Bring your own power’ The question of where the 300 megawatts (mw) needed to power Bell’s AI data centre will come from has become a topic of heated debate in recent months. Concern from residents and criticism from the Saskatchewan NDP has led the province to defend the project — claiming Saskatchewan’s grid has the capacity to power the facility. It was a defence repeated on Thursday by Harrison. “This particular project is unique because we actually were in a position to supply that power from SaskPower,” Harrison noted. “But any further investment into data or AI infrastructure will be a requirement that companies bring their own power and produce that power at their own cost, behind the fences.” John Watson, group president with Bell Canada, confirmed that diesel generators are being installed at the site for the purpose of backup power. “So, on the site, you have to have backup generation in case you lose your grid power, or you need to furlough that power,” Watson explained. “So that’s the backup for it.” In a statement to CTV News, Bell shared its support for the province’s policy, adding that it looks forward to continued collaboration with the provincial government. More details to come… CTV News is a division of Bell Media, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of BCE Inc.
