Construction is now underway on a new data centre at Thompson Rivers University (TRU), marking a significant addition to Canada’s growing AI infrastructure footprint.
The project, led by the Thompson Rivers University Community Trust, will see a facility developed at 1452 McGill Road in Kamloops as part of Bell Canada’s broader Bell AI Fabric—a national platform combining data centres, high-performance compute, networking, and managed services.
Designed to support advanced research, enterprise innovation, and public-sector adoption of artificial intelligence, the development reflects rising demand for sovereign, Canadian-based compute capacity.
The data centre is being developed by TrueNorth Sustainable Infrastructure and is expected to reach completion in late 2027.
Beyond its role in national AI infrastructure, the facility is positioned to integrate directly with TRU’s academic ecosystem. The university expects the project to enable new opportunities for student internships, applied research, and collaboration in areas such as artificial intelligence and computer science.
Sustainability is also a core component of the build. Plans include the ability to capture and repurpose waste heat from the data centre to support a future low-carbon district energy system, aligning with broader campus and regional climate goals.
The development is part of a wider push to expand AI infrastructure capacity across British Columbia, with Bell’s network expected to include multiple facilities across the province.
In addition to supporting Canada’s digital competitiveness, the TRU project is expected to generate local economic benefits, including jobs across construction, operations, and AI-related fields.
As demand for AI compute accelerates, projects like TRU’s highlight a broader trend: the convergence of universities, telecom operators, and infrastructure developers in building the next generation of data centre capacity—anchored in sustainability, research integration, and domestic control.