Federal ministers said Thursday they are pleased with the announcements by Bell and Telus to open up artificial intelligence facilities across the country, noting that they show a commitment to building a stronger Canadian economy.
“These forward-looking private sector investments will help create high-quality jobs in Canada, open up new opportunities for workers at home and strengthen Canada’s position as an AI leader. It also supports the responsible development and adoption of AI technologies that can improve prosperity for workers and businesses across Canada,” said the joint statement by Industry Minister Melanie Joly and AI and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon.
“Notwithstanding unjustified tariffs imposed by the United States, these announcements show industry is strongly aligned with Canada’s plans to build the strongest economy in the G7, and the desire to see AI get to scale, unlock productivity gains, and fuel trust, security and sovereignty at this time of crisis.
“These investments are also a testament to Canada’s commitment to ensuring all Canadians have access to best-in-class technologies. The Government of Canada will continue to champion investments that expand access to reliable, affordable telecommunications and support the growth of Canadian businesses in every corner of the country. Canada is open for business.”
The comments come the month after Telus announced its first AI factories in Rimouski, Quebec, and Kamloops, B.C., and one day after Bell announced the AI Fabric, which it said will be the largest artificial intelligence compute project in Canada, starting with a data centre supercluster in British Columbia that will eventually provide up to 500 megawatts (MW) of hydroelectric-powered AI compute capacity across six facilities.
On X, Solomon said Bell’s announcement is a “powerful example of what it means to invest in Canada’s future.”
Also this week, Telus announced it is investing $70 billion – which includes operating expenses and spectrum costs – over the next five years across the country to expand its network infrastructure and operations.
The Vancouver-based telecom has started to release the details on a province-by-province basis, including Thursday’s announcement that it is committing $15 billion of that amount in British Columbia over that period of time to improve connectivity, support Canadian AI leadership and fuel economic growth.
“This is a meaningful step towards enhancing AI capacity, global competitiveness, and national connectivity,” Solomon said about the announcement on X, with Joly adding that this is a “strong signal of confidence in our talent and our future.”
