Telus Announces Three AI Data Centres in B.C., with Federal Government Backing
Telus Corp. announced Monday it will build two new data centres in Vancouver and expand an existing facility in Kamloops, B.C., to handle artificial intelligence workloads — a combined buildout requiring more than 150 megawatts of electricity by 2032, with support from the federal government.
Three Facilities, Three Timelines
The Kamloops expansion and a Vancouver facility in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood are both expected to come online later this year. The Mount Pleasant site, housed in an existing building, will scale up through 2028.
The largest of the three — a new development near BC Place in downtown Vancouver — will become operational in 2029. Spanning 400,000 square feet, it is designed to consume up to 100 MW of electricity and will house the bulk of the project’s computing power.
Once fully operational, the three facilities will collectively house more than 60,000 Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs), making it one of the largest GPU clusters in Canada.
Federal Involvement Still Taking Shape
Telus is the first company announced as a successful applicant under a federal AI data-centre program administered by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. The government received 160 applications through the program, AI Minister Evan Solomon said Monday.
Monday’s announcement marks the beginning — not the conclusion — of negotiations between Ottawa and Telus. A memorandum of understanding will follow, though no timeline has been set.
Solomon said the federal government is open to providing financial backstops and off-take agreements, where Ottawa purchases capacity directly. The 2025 federal budget directed him to identify and negotiate “new promising AI infrastructure projects” and to enable the Canada Infrastructure Bank to invest in such developments.
Not everyone welcomed the government’s role. Conservative MP Ben Lobb argued Canada’s energy supplies and cool climate already make it a natural hub for data centres. “They don’t need government involvement or tax dollars, they just need the Liberal government to get out of the way,” he said in a statement.
Capital Spending Under Scrutiny
Telus declined to disclose the total cost of the new facilities, citing competitive reasons. Spokesperson Liz Sauvé said any capital spending in 2026 falls within the company’s existing envelope, which it has projected at $2.3-billion — 10 per cent less than last year.
Canada’s major telecoms have broadly been cutting capital expenditures as they work to reduce heavy debt loads accumulated through years of infrastructure investment and acquisitions. Slower revenue growth, driven by lower cellphone plan prices and stagnant population increases, has added further pressure.
Telus has been expanding its AI infrastructure for several years. Last year, it converted an existing data centre in Rimouski, Que., to handle AI processing. Rival Bell Canada announced in March it would spend $1.7-billion over two years on a 300-megawatt data centre outside Regina, leasing space to AI tenants Cerebras and CoreWeave.
Westbank Partnership Raises Questions
Telus said it is partnering with Vancouver real estate developer Westbank Corp. on the new projects. Westbank has faced significant financial difficulties in recent years, including multiple lawsuits and liens from contractors claiming unpaid bills.
Most recently, a court-appointed receiver identified nearly $290-million owed to 20 secured creditors in connection with Westbank’s Vancouver rental developments at 5083 Joyce St.
Solomon said the federal government would proceed with caution. “We want to make sure this project is done right by the right people,” he said, promising transparency and rigour in Ottawa’s approach to its work with both Telus and Westbank.
