Saskatchewan is drawing a firm line around who can build the next generation of data centres in the province—and where their electricity must come from.
The provincial government has introduced a new Data Centre Framework that prioritizes Canadian-owned and headquartered companies, domestic data sovereignty, Saskatchewan jobs and partnerships, experienced operators, self-supplied power generation, and a centralized application process.
The framework gives Saskatchewan one of Canada’s most explicitly nationalist approaches to data centre development. As provinces compete for billions of dollars in artificial intelligence infrastructure investment, Saskatchewan is making control over the resulting compute capacity and data a central consideration.
Crown Investments Corporation Minister Jeremy Harrison summarized the government’s position succinctly: “Our government chooses Canada.”
Under the framework, future data centre proponents will be required to provide their own electricity rather than relying on SaskPower. The province says that requirement will protect grid reliability, avoid displacing electricity available for interprovincial exports, and prevent existing customers from carrying the cost of serving enormous new loads.
Interest is already substantial. Saskatchewan says more than 30 data centre applications are awaiting evaluation under the framework.
A centralized provincial intake process will coordinate those assessments and give the government a consistent method for weighing proposed projects. Developers will remain responsible for determining whether an environmental impact assessment is required and completing all applicable municipal, provincial and federal reviews.
The framework also encourages Indigenous partnerships, participation and equity, alongside Saskatchewan-based employment and procurement commitments.
Its release comes as construction advances on Bell Canada’s 300-megawatt AI data centre campus in the Rural Municipality of Sherwood outside Regina. The project is expected to generate more than 1,600 jobs, approximately $720 million in provincial revenue and as much as $12 billion in economic activity.
Bell’s facility will use a closed-loop cooling system designed to avoid drawing water from regional supplies. The project also includes an agreement with George Gordon First Nation focused on Indigenous participation and workforce development.
Harrison said the Bell campus will be the last privately owned data centre permitted to draw electricity from SaskPower under the province’s previous approach. Future developments will have to arrive with a credible plan to generate their own power.
Saskatchewan’s framework reflects a wider shift taking place across Canada. Provinces increasingly see data centres as strategic infrastructure, but they are also moving to protect electricity customers, extract local economic benefits and exercise greater control over the companies storing and processing Canadian data.
For Saskatchewan, the message to developers is now clear: the province is open to data centre investment, but ownership, power and economic benefits must remain closer to home.