Saskatchewan’s Crown corporations are providing more details on how the province is preparing to host what will be Canada’s largest purpose-built Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centre.

Earlier this week, Bell CEO Mirko Bibic announced plans to build a 300-megawatt AI data centre in the Rural Municipality (RM) of Sherwood, near Regina.

Saskatchewan’s Minister of Crown Investments Corporation Jeremy Harrison has said the power needed for the project is readily available, adding the province is in a prime position to take on a development of this scale.

“We are really in a unique position to actually [be able to] allocate power for projects, whether it be uranium mines ... or whether it be a new potash mine, whether it be a copper mine, we are in that unique position to be able to partner with Bell on a project like this,” he said.

Both SaskEnergy and SaskPower have issued statements outlining how the data centre will be supplied with power.

According to SaskEnergy, the corporation is developing natural gas infrastructure to serve “Bell’s onsite gas-fired power generation” through its subsidiary, TransGas Limited.

The work includes building a new high-pressure pipeline and a high-volume metre station.

SaskPower has said its current generation capacity will be able to support the first 200 megawatts of the construction - which is slated to be completed by the end of the year.

Phase two of construction will provide the final 100 megawatts by the end of 2027.

The 300 megawatts (MW) required to run the facility accounts for around five per cent of Saskatchewan’s total grid capacity of 5,977 MW.

According to the Crown, the new power generation will come from a mix of natural gas, wind and solar.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe added the data centre will help grow the province’s job market.

“Traditionally this province is a provider of developing the natural resources that we have in mining, oil production and, of course, agriculture,” he said.

“This is new for our province, and I think it’s significant in diversifying our jobs and our opportunity as Saskatchewan and Regina residents.”

The provincial government says the new centre is expected to create more than 800 jobs during construction and at least 80 full-time on-site positions once completed.

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Larissa Kurz

Nykole King

Regina Leader-Post

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says Bell Canada’s artificial intelligence (AI) data centre project near Regina will move ahead as early as this spring.

Once finished, the multi-phase campus is expected to help Canada claim sovereignty of its data and support various economic sectors that are increasingly reliant on AI technology, said Moe, who was joined for the announcement by Bell Canada president/CEO Mirko Bibic on Monday at Innovation Place in Regina.

According to details provided at the event, the $1.3-billion data centre is set for construction as soon as this spring on a 160-acre parcel in the Rural Municipality of Sherwood, just south of Regina. It will make up 300 megawatts (MW) of the communications company’s 800-MW plan to build an AI network across Canada.

This facility will be the largest of its kind operating in our nation,” Moe said in his speech. “And while the project site is in the RM of Sherwood, I’m sure the benefits are going to spread so much further than that.”

News of the data centre became public in February when Bell filed a zoning application with the RM for approval.

Afterward, it received public criticism which questioned the potential environmental impacts of the project, including water usage, noise and whether it will affect surrounding farmland.

Water, electricity sourced

A public petition with more than 9,000 signature has been circulating online. It raises questions about pressure on the local power grid and large volumes of water that AI data centres tend to require in order to keep their processing systems from overheating.

Speaking to these concerns, Bibic said the centre will not be tapping into any municipal water reserves. A specific industrial type of water will be shipped to the site and used in a closed-loop cooling system, he explained. Bell Canada expects to purchase power from SaskPower and TransGas, a subsidiary to SaskEnergy, but also plans to build a private substation and natural gas generator on site.

Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for the Crown Investments Corporation, said the deal will make Bell Canada “a very large” industrial customer on SaskPower’s books.

“Having that large new customer with the power already available will actually serve as a mitigating factor on electricity costs,” Harrison told reporters.

Asked if the project had been vetted by regulators, Moe said “all the various reviews that are necessary… have been done and I assume they’ve been approved.”

In response to a Leader-Post inquiry asking which regulators had reviewed this project, a spokesperson from the government’s communications team said Bell has followed “standard processes, policies and regulatory requirements — the same as any other large industrial customer.”

“The project is still moving through the regulatory process with construction expected to start this spring,” added the emailed statement, which did not name specific agencies.

The RM of Sherwood approved the rezoning and was granted ministerial approval in February. The RM did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication Monday.

A portion of the facility will be available for use by government, industry and researchers, according to promotional materials provided Monday.

The materials note that Bell Canada has already secured American-based AI companies Cerebras and CoreWeave as tenants to supply computing hardware in the first phase of the facility.

Saskatchewan an AI data hub

Moe said the province was approached by other companies regarding AI data projects but decided to move forward with Bell Canada because of the estimated $12 billion in economic value.

“They’re willing to bring not only those services to Saskatchewan companies, the data sovereignty to us as Canadians, but to bring those careers right here to the Regina and surrounding area,” Moe told media following the official announcement.

George Gordon First Nation (GGFN) Chief Shawn Longman said his people have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together with Bell on the project, which is situated near a parcel owned by the First Nation.

Longman says GGFN has been interested in AI and the economic opportunities it could provide.

“The partnership opens up opportunities for us to get in on the economic activity that’s taking place right near our land,” Longman told media.

Bibic says Bell Canada is building a “digital backbone” for the country with its AI Fabric plan. The company chose Saskatchewan as a key component of its plan because of the provincial government’s openness for investment, he explained to reporters.

“The reason we’re so keen to invest the largest amount of money we’ve ever invested in the province is the spirit of collaboration and ambition that the premier and his team has shown,” said Bibic. “They want to drive investment.”

The project has also been endorsed by the City of Regina, University of Regina and Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

lkurz@postmedia.com

nyking@postmedia.com

Brody Langager

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

The main question around budget time — will there or won’t there be a deficit? — has already been answered by Saskatchewan’s premier and finance minister.

What seemingly remains up in the air is what that number will be as Finance Minister Jim Reiter prepares to deliver his budget on Wednesday at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building.

Over the last few weeks, Moe, Reiter and others made announcements and gave hints about what the people of Saskatchewan can expect in the 2026-27 provincial budget.

The premier and finance minister have both acknowledged that the 2026 provincial budget will be a deficit, with the hopes that services will be protected without also raising taxes.

Moe recently said his government was faced with a choice: “Do we want to raise taxes, or do we want to cut services?” The province instead went for a third option.

During MLAs’ first week back, debates arose about the forthcoming budget document — and how the province will reconcile trying to balance the books with the uncertainties of international trade and tariffs.

“I don’t think you’ll see a balanced budget in the country this year,” Reiter told reporters recently.

He said Saskatchewan is in a good position compared to other provinces based on its credit rating and debt-to-GDP ratio (government debt percentage of annual economic output).

Trade talks and the U.S.

Moe has been working to create trade deals in other parts of the world, including with Prime Minister Mark Carney to reverse canola tariffs in China, and creating a nine-year deal with India to supply $2.6 billion worth of uranium.

He said United States tariffs are impeding some trade with Canada’s southern neighbours. Even after President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs were deemed unlawful by the U.S. Supreme Court in February, Trump imposed 15 per cent global tariffs.

Moe has said that local businesses are getting lower revenues due to these tariffs, as well as the uncertainty in global markets, which in turn affects many of the provincial government’s bottom lines.

During a luncheon with the NSBA in Saskatoon in February, Moe said Saskatchewan needs to do two things at once: diversify trade in global markets while still engaging with the U.S.

“Despite what the president says, the United States of America will likely be our largest trading partner post-President Trump, and we need to realize that.”

Trade relationships around the world are being realigned, Moe said, adding that Saskatchewan was in a stronger place than other provinces.

In the energy sector, Saskatchewan is aiming to extend its coal infrastructure to 2050 if needed.

Work is also being done to bring small modular reactors and smaller micro reactors into Saskatchewan, utilizing uranium.

“The Government of Saskatchewan is committed to a nuclear future utilizing our amazing Saskatchewan uranium resource to power our province and provide a secure energy future,” Crown Investments Minister Jeremy Harrison said in October.

The province indicated that SaskPower aims to have a carbon neutral power grid by 2050.

Private health care and surgery wait times

The province has been making promises to reduce surgical wait times and address overcrowded emergency rooms.

As of the end of 2025, there were 29,000 patients waiting for surgery in Saskatchewan, according to the SHA’s website. Nearly half of those patents had been waiting more than six months, the data shows.

In March, Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said the province is open to having more private clinics to achieve their goals.

Since 2010, Saskatchewan has logged 180,000 surgeries for patients through private contracts, Cockrill said.

Earlier this month, the government rolled out what it dubbed the Patients First Health Care Plan. Cockrill said it is structured around two key targets: connecting residents to a primary care provider and ensuring patients have timely access to surgery.

With more than 50 action points, the plan includes expanding virtual care and diagnostic services, increasing the number of nurse practitioners and urgent care centres, and widening the mandate of the Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency to improve training, recruitment and retention.

NDP criticizes province’s growing debt

According to a Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) report, the Saskatchewan government increased the province’s debt by 136 per cent from 2017-18 to 2025-26.

The CTF said the province’s debt in 2017 was around $10.1 billion, and that by the end of 2025 it would reach around $23.9 billion.

“Ultimately, it’s everyday Saskatchewan people that pay the price for Scott Moe’s failures — and with a debt this size this will hurt household budgets for generations to come,” NDP Leader Carla Beck said this week.

Finance critic Trent Wotherspoon said it is “Saskatchewan people and families that are hit time and time again by this government that’s making them pay the costs and the price for this unprecedented waste and mismanagement.”

— With files from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix’s Michael Joel-Hansen and Olivia Grandy, and the Regina Leader-Post’s Larissa Kurz and Nykole King

Former Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman Scott Schultz explained why Regina might be better than Saskatoon for Canadian Football League training camp.

"The way I look at it is I'm a facilities guy. If I were on this team now, if I spent any more time at the stadium, I'd be a stand or a chair. I would spend all my time at the stadium using the facilities, using the hot tub, the cold tub, the treatment, everything that's there. You look at the facility that they have now, it is state-of-the-art," Schultz told SportsCage host Barney Shynkaruk.

"There's no one in the CFL that has a comparable one. Maybe Winnipeg a little bit, but it's kind of trashy over there. You know how that goes, very Winnipeg-ish."

Schultz expanded on his reasoning and explains how the Riders can bring events besides training camp to Saskatoon.

"I'm not saying cut Saskatoon out. They're obviously doing that game, and we'll talk about that as it comes, but there are other things that could take the place of a training camp in Saskatoon to build Riders fanship up there," Schultz said.

"You look at that facility, we're not the NFL, so we're not going to all these other facilities that have the same type of access. Whereas Mosaic Stadium is an unbelievable state-of-the-art facility with amenities for these players. I don't know why you would not use them during a time like training camp."

Schultz spent time in the NFL from 2001 to 2002 with the San Diego Chargers and the Pittsburgh Steelers then joined Saskatchewan in the CFL. He was the Green and White's first overall pick in 2001 and stayed with the team from 2002 through 2009. While with the Riders, he won the Grey Cup in 2007 as Saskatchewan defeated Winnipeg 23-19.

Schultz explained he initially did not get to participate in training camps in Saskatoon at the start of his CFL career.

"The first two years, I always missed training camp because I was down in the States. I did the Chargers (2001) training camp and the Steelers (2002)," Schultz recalled. "I missed the first two training camps, came in mid-season, and then my first full season in 2003, we did at Luther. I never got to experience going up to Saskatoon at all."

The Roughriders will host a preseason game in Saskatoon against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday, May 23, which Schultz believes is a smart idea.

"That's the kind of thing, not to belabour my other point, but you can substitute for a training camp up there. If you're doing stuff like that with a buildup and those kinds of things, couple of practices, I love that idea," Schultz explained.

"I love having a game offsite, albeit it's a preseason game, but it certainly gives an opportunity to the northern half to get more involved, get down there and get a piece of what's going on at the stadium."

Everett Hindley says the 2026-27 provincial budget shows a “continued focus” on education, despite criticism that funding has fallen short of what’s needed.

Following the budget’s release on Wednesday, Saskatchewan’s education minister acknowledged that governments across Canada are facing challenges, including in Saskatchewan.

“We’re trying to manage the pressures we have within the education system,” Hindley said.

In order to continue making investments in a “responsible and a sustainable manner,” the government had to make some difficult choices across all ministries, he noted.

The Ministry of Education has been allotted roughly $3.58 billion for the 2026-27 fiscal year, up from approximately $3.51 billion last year. Only the Ministry of Health was allocated more funding.

“The ’26-27 budget is protecting education by ensuring students in Saskatchewan are getting their best start with an investment of $2.5 billion in school operating funds for the ’26-27 school year, an increase of $62 million,” Finance Minister Jim Reiter said Wednesday.

This amounts to an increase of 2.6 per cent over the operational funding allocated in last year’s budget. It includes, among other things, 50 additional “Specialized Support Classrooms,” which Reiter mentioned will bring the total of such classrooms to 108.

The budget also touts new capital projects including new school builds in Martensville-Warman and Shellbrook, as well as a major renovation in Esterhazy.

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) had hoped per-student funding would continue to see improvement in this budget.

According to president Samantha Becotte, what the budget delivered was movement in the wrong direction.

“We are seeing per-student funding decline when we adjust for inflation,” she said. “This is really a step backwards.”

Sean Davidson, president of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA), said the budget is what administrators expected.

While the addition of more specialized support is welcome, he noted concern about inflationary pressure on operating costs.

Further, he said SSBA is disappointed to not see an increase in maintenance and renewal funding. The $65 million budgeted is the same as the year prior.

Hindley underlined that the past three budgets combined have amounted to an increase of approximately 20 per cent in operating funds for school divisions.

As for the maintenance and renewal funding, Hindley said it saw an increase of $15 million in the last budget. He also felt it was important to note there was not a reduction or a cut in that area this year.

NDP leader Carla Beck called the new school in Premier Scott Moe’s home community of Shellbrook “conspicuous” and said priority should be placed where school buildings are in poor condition.

She also criticized a reduction in capital spending, which is down roughly $67.5 million from last year’s budget.

Hindley said the Shellbrook school had been a priority for that school division.

Further, he said new schools have been built in the constituencies of MLAs from both parties as well as the previous premier.

“It doesn’t matter where you live,” Hindley said. “If you have a need for a school in your community, it gets added onto the list to be up there for consideration.”

This year’s budget earmarks about $847 million for the Ministry of Advanced Education, up from around $788 million the year prior.

“A new multi-year funding agreement will provide stability and predictability for our post-secondary institutions, which also protects students by limiting annual tuition increases,” Reiter said.

Budget documents indicate the agreement will provide approximately $250 million over four years. In 2026-2027, operational funding for post-secondary institutions is to increase by $33.6 million.

Reiter also pointed to the Saskatchewan Graduate Retention Program, noting participants can receive up to $24,000 in tax credits.

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Saskatchewan’s freshly released 2026-27 budget is promising to deliver the highest-ever pool of municipal grants to cities, towns and rural municipalities.

Presented on Wednesday, the budget included a record-high $392.4 million to be distributed via Municipal Revenue Sharing (MRS), an increase of eight per cent over 2025-26.

“We’re working with cities,” said Premier Scott Moe on Wednesday.

Here’s a closer look at what you need to know:

Saskatchewan’s two largest cities are getting the largest individual slices of the MRS grant pool as usual, though all recipients will see an increase this year.

Regina received $56.5 million in MRS grants last year and will be getting $61 million this year. Saskatoon also saw a boost with $71.7 million this year, compared to $66.4 million last year.

Prince Albert will see $10.1 million, Moose Jaw will get $9 million and Swift Current will receive $4.5 million this year.

The grants are to assist local governments with costs such as infrastructure and operations. After passing Regina’s largest-ever tax increase this year, Mayor Chad Bachynski stated his intention to lobby for more provincial funding, and a provincial sales tax (PST) exemption on construction for municipalities.

Overall, the budget has pledged $712.2 million for municipalities in revenue-sharing, grants-in-lieu from Crowns, municipal surcharges and capital spending.

This includes an increased investment into public safety and $239 million for infrastructure projects, including $112 million through federal-provincial grant streams, numbers that were highlighted by Moe.

Saskatchewan’s revenue-sharing model was established in 2006 and delivered in 2007-08. Municipalities receive three-quarters of a percentage of the provincial sales tax in no-strings-attached grants to spend at their discretion.

This formula means funding is linked to the province’s economic performance and varies year to year. Grants are calculated on a per-capita basis using census figures, which will be updated with the upcoming 2026 census.

Last year, MRS grants totalled $361.8 million, with 47.9 per cent going to cities, 16.2 to towns, villages and resort villages, 28.5 to rural municipalities and 7.4 to northern communities.

This year’s allocation marks an increase of $30.7 million — the highest amount available since the program’s inception.

The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.