How an AI data centre may be the big, energy-thirsty fish that got away from Manitoba
CBC
There was a time when Manitobans used to consider Saskatchewan a rural, underdeveloped backwater.
This characterization is out of date.
Over the past two decades, horizontal drilling turned our neighbours to the west into oil producers and worldwide demand for potash took off, followed by renewed interest around the globe in uranium.
While Manitoba still has a more diverse economy and is less exposed to fluctuations in commodity prices, Saskatchewan is wealthier and financially healthier, when you consider metrics such as per capita GDP, median wages and provincial debt.
Given the friendly rivalry between the two provinces, it's worth noting when Saskatchewan does something Manitoba has not.
This week, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe proudly announced his province will soon be home to Canada's largest artificial intelligence data centre — a $1.7-billion project Bell Canada plans to build south of Regina.
The project, slated for completion at the end of 2027, requires a tremendous amount of electricity: 300 megawatts, which is about five per cent of Saskatchewan's current generating capacity.
Bell Canada said it has deals with SaskPower and SaskEnergy subsidiary TransGas Limited to provide this electricity, meaning the data centre will run partly on natural gas.
"This is one of the few provinces where we do have available power to build, at scale, the data sovereignty that we very much require as Canadians," Moe said Monday.
That statement should perk up the ears of Manitobans who've listened closely to Premier Wab Kinew for the past few months.
In October, when Kinew unveiled an AI strategy for this province, he said Manitoba must be a leader in ensuring Canadian data is controlled and stored in Canadian jurisdictions, and subject to Canadian rules governing the way it can be accessed.
"You'll see servers and data centres in Manitoba in the future," Kinew told reporters after that announcement.
Kinew made that statement four weeks after he met with Bell Canada CEO Mirko Bibic and other company officials to discuss "AI in Manitoba," according to the provincial lobbyist registry.
The premier was asked directly what he discussed with Bell Canada officials in that meeting.
The family of an Edmonton woman who died in Honolulu last year is pushing for Hawaiian authorities to re-open the case.
It was around this time in 2020 that everything changed.
With its emergency shelter beds frequently running at 50 per cent over capacity and demand so great that it's forced to refer some women escaping domestic violence elsewhere, Gillian's Place in St. Catharines will soon be able to offer a broader range of services to more victims of gender-based violence.
The ceiling of the CAW Student Centre at the University of Windsor is decorated by flags of numerous nations — among them, Iran.
Turmoil in Iran, a major disruption in world oil markets, and stratospheric gasoline prices in Canada and beyond. What's racking motorists and governments in 2026 also faced them in 1979, sparked by the Iranian Revolution.
Five decades later, and Thunder Bay's Music World Academy remains a family-run business.
Dalton Dubois of Guelph, Ont., made history at the recent Paris Fashion Week when she became the first transgender model to walk the runway for Chanel Exclusive.
Work is scheduled to begin over the summer at the site of the former Clinton Creek asbestos mine, about 65 kilometres northwest of Dawson City, Yukon.
They may be bitter rivals in the House of Commons, but outside the chamber, recent events may have led to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Prime Minister Mark Carney forging a bond.
Local fans and industry insiders say the province’s move to ban the reselling of event tickets for more than their original value is a step in the right direction, but some say there are still larger issues that need to be addressed.
This First Person column is the experience of Mehdi M. Kashani, who lives in Toronto. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
A very quiet queue has formed in Europe where some of Canada's long-standing, closest allies are seeking shelter under France's small but robust nuclear umbrella.
Friday morning's dusting of snow was no match for the large crowd visiting the Suleman Dawood Masjid in St. John’s for Eid-al-Fitr. A busy service marked the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month.