Saskatchewan’s premier says guidelines on future data centres in the province will be announced in the “next 24 hours.” Premier Scott Moe hinted at the announcement during a news conference on the province’s response to U.S. tariffs Wednesday in Prince Albert. “We’ll be announcing very shortly in the next 24 hours or so the guidelines that the government has been following and has established for any future data centre projects,” Moe said, adding the most important element for future data centre proposals will be Canadian involvement. “One of the highest priorities and requirements in the Government of Saskatchewan, considering additional data centre investment in this province, is that it is a Canadian component, like Bell Canada.” Moe referred to Bell Canada’s data centre project during his remarks, heralding it as positive investment with widespread economic impact. The $1.7 billion data centre, currently under construction in the Rural Municipality (RM) of Sherwood near Regina, has been met with intense criticism from local residents. During its approval process by the RM, hundreds of residents held demonstrations in front of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building and the RM of Sherwood offices – sharing concerns over the potential environmental impact of the facility, as well as reservations and criticisms of the rapid expansion of AI and its consequences. The first portion of the Bell AI data centre is expected to become operational in the first half of 2027. CTV News is a division of Bell Media, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of BCE Inc.
