Artificial Intelligence (AI) is driving a Canadian boom in data centre construction with billions being poured into new projects either coming out of the ground or on the drawing boards.
Western Canada is emerging as a prime site as it offers large low-cost sites near larger urban centres, can provide the energy needed to drive warehoused computers, has lower temperatures to naturally cool facilities and provides a Canadian alternative to data now stored in U.S. centres near the border.
Alberta is fast out of gate, forging new legislation to accommodate companies and citing projects in its 2026 budget.
“eStruxture is currently constructing a $750 million data centre in Rocky View County scheduled for completion this year. In addition, two data centre projects are advancing under the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) Phase 1, including TransAlta’s Keephills Data Centre Phase 1 and Pembina Pipeline’s GLDC Load,” the Alberta budget states.
The AESO, like other energy authorities, is attempting to manage how the huge new demands will impact power supply.
“Over the past two years, the number of data centre projects seeking to connect to the Alberta grid rose to more than 30 in the second half of 2025, up from just two in January 2024. What was even more notable though was the combined demand capacity of these projects, which reached as high as 21 GW in October 2025, with developers requesting to have around 90 per cent of the new load online by 2030,” cites TD Economics.
A $10 billion Synapse Data Centre Inc. facility, touted to be the largest in Canada, was announced in January for the town of Olds, Alta., however, on March 6, the Alberta Utilities Commission rejected the application for lack of sufficient information.
B.C. is also gearing up for the onslaught of power demand, as BC Hydro launched a competitive call for AI data centre proposals that used clean energy sources in a bid to prioritize the applications that could overwhelm the system. The call finished March 9 with the successful applicants expected to be notified in September.
B.C.’s vocal on the tremendous potential of data centre construction has been Berto Construction president Sonia Hartwell who has blogged on the company website about the trend sweeping Canada and its potential for the construction industry.
“There is massive growth in data storage and processing,” she said, adding AI is not only driving demand for more capacity but also putting pressure on the existing infrastructure for distribution which will need to be upgraded.
The construction sector needs to prepare, she said, adding there is the growing need for training new skilled labour as older journeymen age out.
“It is a huge opportunity and it will create new jobs and a new stream of revenue,” she said.
Matt MacInnes, president of the Electrical Contractors Association of BC, said: “We see this as very favorable to the construction sector in B.C. and we welcome more data centres.”
These larger projects not only provide new training opportunities for new entrants but also come as B.C. is re-pacing some of its other major projects, he said.
Saskatchewan is already reaping benefits. One of the largest projects now underway near Regina is Bell Canada’s Saskatchewan AI data centre, costing approximately $1.7 billion, with about $1.3 billion expected to be incurred in 2026.
Bell expects construction on the first phase of the Saskatchewan AI data centre to begin this spring as an RFP for the project construction has been issued with the phase one online date of early 2027. Two data halls will enter service in the first half of 2027 and two additional data halls in the latter half of 2027. Located in Sherwood, Sask., the project will be the largest purpose-built data centre in Canada and is expected to generate up to $12 billion in economic value for the province as well as 800 temporary construction jobs.
“In other words, construction will be happening between now and the end of 2027, and equipment will be moved in as the halls come online,” said Bell’s senior media manager David Marcille.
The Construction Association of Saskatchewan applauds the investment.
“Projects like Bell’s AI data centre development are a strong signal that Saskatchewan is attracting major, forward-looking investment. For the construction industry, this means sustained demand across multiple trades and real opportunities for local contractors, suppliers and skilled workers. A multi-phase project of this scale not only creates jobs today, it helps build long-term capacity,” said Shannon Friesen, president and CEO.
“Saskatchewan represents a major expansion of Bell AI Fabric, and other facilities across the country will come online this year and into next. Bell has been clear that AI infrastructure is a long‑term, national strategy, and while additional AI data centres are planned as part of Bell AI Fabric, future locations and timelines will be announced.”
In Manitoba, two firms recently partnered to purchase land in Île-des-Chênes, planning a hyper-scale facility, and at 141 hectares (350 acres), the site would be among the largest in the world. The project, proposed by Jet.AI and Consensus Core in partnership with Convergence Compute, is still in its early stages.
