Bell Canada has announced Bell AI Fabric, a major investment that will create the country’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) compute project.
Bell AI Fabric promises to create a national network, starting with a data centre supercluster in B.C., that aims to provide upwards of 500 MW of hydro-electric powered AI compute capacity across six facilities. The company said in an announcement on Wednesday that the project underscores its capabilities as a leading full-stack AI Managed Service Provider that can support Canadian businesses and governments across a variety of AI needs, from strategy and applications development through infrastructure deployment.
The first of Bell’s AI Fabric facilities will come online in June, in partnership with AI inference provider Groq and the launch of its 7 MW AI inference facility in Kamloops. Bell says additional AI facilities will come online by the end of 2026 in Merritt, including a 26 MW AI data centre being built in partnership with Thompson Rivers University (TRU).
The data centre at TRU will be designed to host AI training and inference, providing students and faculty with access to cutting-edge compute capabilities, both at TRU and nationally through integration with the BCNET network. The data centre is also being integrated into the district energy system, with waste heat being repurposed to provide energy to TRU’s buildings.
The company says two other AI datacentres with a combined capacity of more than 400 MW are also in the advanced planning stages. Bell says other facilities planned across the country will take advantage of its real estate assets.
“Bell’s AI Fabric will ensure that Canadian businesses, researchers, and public institutions can access high-performance, sovereign and environmentally responsible AI computing services,” said Mirko Bibic, President & CEO, BCE and Bell Canada. Through this investment, Bell is immediately bolstering Canada’s sovereign AI compute capacity, while laying the groundwork to continue growing our AI economy. This is transformational for our customers, for Canada and for Bell.”
