Bce Stock: BCE Plans 300MW Saskatchewan AI Data Centre
BCE is moving ahead with a major data-centre build in Saskatchewan that could reshape the company’s growth profile and the outlook for bce stock. The parent of Bell Canada plans to spend $1. 7-billion to build a 300-megawatt artificial-intelligence data centre on a campus outside Regina in the rural municipality of Sherwood, with power supplied by Saskatchewan Power Corp.
Bce Stock: Financials and Investment Details
it will invest $1. 7-billion in the project, with $1. 3-billion of that scheduled to be spent in the current year and financed through a mix of debt and cash. BCE indicated tenants will make some prepayments for equipment to help offset early costs. The facility will be rented by two main U. S. tenants and is expected, once fully operational, to generate annual revenue of $500-million, EBITDA of about $400-million and roughly $250-million in annual free cash flow.
BCE has said the project will require the company to take on more debt in the near term but that the investment is leverage-neutral at run rate. The company expects revenue, earnings and free cash flow from the data centre to catch up within three years and has set targets for net-debt-to-EBITDA that are tied to its broader capital plans.
Project Scale, Jobs and Timeline
The planned campus will span 300 megawatts and, when completed, is described as the largest data centre in Canada. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring, with the first capacity expected to come online in the first half of 2027. Company statements project the campus will support at least 80 full-time operational roles and create at least 800 trades positions during construction; separate coverage also cited up to 750 additional community jobs and a projected economic value for the province.
BCE noted it will partner with regional communications providers on go-to-market efforts tied to the facility and that a significant portion of the power will support sovereign AI compute. it will use measures intended to limit environmental impact, including a closed-loop cooling system for the site.
Energy, Location Choice and Strategic Rationale
The choice of Saskatchewan reflects challenges developers face in securing land and electricity for large AI-focused data centres. The province’s electricity mix is described as heavily skewed toward fossil fuels: natural gas was cited as generating 41% of the province’s electricity and coal 21%, with the remainder coming from hydro, wind and solar. The province is also exploring long-term options for nuclear energy.
BCE framed the investment as a way to diversify revenue streams and amplify growth. Company leadership characterized the project as leveraging the firm’s scale and said rating agencies view the initiative as credit positive at run rate. The facility will be built in stages and is designed to meet significant demand for AI compute from large tenants.
The announcement lays out a multi-year construction and ramp schedule tied to contracted tenants and prepayments, and sets out financial projections the company says will support additional borrowing without altering targeted leverage ratios. Observers tracking bce stock will note the company’s projections on revenue, EBITDA and free cash flow tied directly to the project’s full operation.
