The ground has been broken and construction of a new artificial intelligence data centre in Kamloops, B.C., has begun.

Located about 250 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, the AI data centre is just the latest in the network of facilities being built by telecommunications company Bell.

It joins another AI centre in Kamloops and one in Merritt.

In 2025, the Bell AI Fabric project announced its intention to build six AI facilities in British Columbia, in addition to several others across the country.

The move is, in part, to increase Canadian sovereignty over AI, said John Watson, president of Bell Business Markets and AI Fabric.

“We need to have stewardship over our core technologies, our core infrastructure,” said Watson. “It’s good for resiliency.”

This facility will be located on the Thompson Rivers University campus, and is being built in partnership with the university.

Airini, the president and vice-chancellor of Thompson Rivers University, said the project is in alignment with the university’s goals and values relating to sustainability.

She said it will benefit not only the campus staff and students, but also the broader community.

“This is different than what we have seen across the border in the USA. Historically, AI infrastructure has been messy and has been polluting,” said Airini.

She wants to quell fear that the data centre will be similar to the noisy, carbon-intensive facilities in operation elsewhere in the world.

“We’re contributing to the building of infrastructure in Canada. This will mean that we have AI happening under Canadian laws, Canadian standards and Canadian environmental expectations,” said Airini.

Since Kamloops is not as hot as some of the locations where large AI data centres have been built, it does not require large cooling fans, Airini said, meaning it won’t be as noisy as others.

If there were to be a power outage, a generator will kick in, but Airini said she has been told it will be no louder than a lawnmower.

The facility will predominantly run on B.C.’s hydroelectric power.

“Our grid in in British Columbia really sets us up for something that’s really quite different. It sets up a whole new model for AI infrastructure to happen,” Airini said.

The data centre will also use a closed-loop cooling system. This means it will will not be water-intensive, and will recycle water within the system instead of continuously drawing on local sources, said Airini.

Additionally, when it is cool outside, the facility will employ its district energy system and the heat produced by the AI data centre will be used to heat the Thompson Rivers University campus buildings.

“I think it’s exciting that Kamloops has been chosen to really be part of the backbone of AI infrastructure for Canada.”