Telus and Canada Announce Three AI Data Centres in BC with $2B Federal Backing

Telus and the Government of Canada unveiled plans for a cluster of three sovereign AI data centres in British Columbia, backed by a federal commitment of $2 billion over five years. The project expands Telus's existing Kamloops data centre and adds two new Vancouver facilities in Mount Pleasant and downtown, developed in partnership with Westbank Projects Corp. The Kamloops expansion and Mount Pleasant site will open later in 2026, while the downtown facility is slated for 2029. By 2032, the infrastructure is expected to scale to over 60,000 NVIDIA GPUs and 150 megawatts of capacity.

The announcement follows the complete sell-out of Canada's first Sovereign AI Factory in Rimouski, Quebec, which opened in September 2025. AI Minister Evan Solomon acknowledged financial risks but said Canada cannot be risk-averse, declaring technological independence a national priority. Outgoing Telus CEO Darren Entwistle called the project a seminal announcement, emphasizing all computation would happen on Canadian soil with Canadian-controlled infrastructure. He also reported that AI enabling capabilities drove 22% revenue growth in Q1 2026, contributing toward a 2028 revenue target of approximately CAD 2 billion across Telus Digital and Telus Business Solutions.

The initiative falls under the federal Enabling Large-Scale Sovereign AI Data Centres program, managed by the Treasury Board of Canada, to ensure Canadian data and intellectual property remain within national borders. Conservative shadow AI minister Ben Lobb criticized the announcement as photo ops, arguing government should get out of the way rather than spend tax dollars. The facilities will source over 98% of electricity from renewables, primarily BC Hydro, and waste heat from the Vancouver sites is projected to heat 150,000 homes in metro Vancouver. The project is expected to inject $9 billion into the Canadian economy and create over 1,000 construction jobs.