TELUS (Canadian communications technology company) is advancing plans with the Government of Canada to build a cluster of three sovereign AI data centers in British Columbia, following the complete sellout of its first Sovereign AI Factory in Rimouski, Quebec.

The expansion, developed under the federal Enabling Large-Scale Sovereign AI Data Centers initiative, will span facilities in Kamloops and Vancouver and is designed to scale to more than 60,000 high-performance GPUs and 150 megawatts of capacity by 2032.

From Quebec to British Columbia

TELUS opened its first Sovereign AI Factory in Rimouski, Quebec, in September 2025. The facility holds a ranking on the global TOP500 list as Canada's fastest and most powerful supercomputer, according to the company, and has since sold out entirely. TELUS cited that demand as the direct driver behind its decision to expand its sovereign AI infrastructure footprint into British Columbia.

The company is working alongside real estate developer Westbank and the Government of Canada on the details of the B.C. cluster collaboration. TELUS President and CEO Darren Entwistle described the approach as modular and demand-driven, stating the expansion is a direct response to market conditions.

He said Canadian businesses, entrepreneurs, startups, researchers, public institutions,ons and government organizations are seeking world-class AI computing that keeps data, intellectual property, and competitive advantages within Canadian borders.

Three Facilities, Three Timelines

The B.C. cluster will comprise three distinct sites. TELUS is expanding its existing data centre in Kamloops, which the company says will come online later this year.

A second facility, designated M3 and located in Vancouvcenterount Pleasant neighborhood, is being developed with Westbank and its partners and is scheduled to open at the end of 2026, scaling through 2028.

A third site at 150 West Georgia in Vancouver will come online in 2029. Collectively, the three sites are expected to reach a total capacity of over 150 MW by 2032. The initial phase of the cluster will draw on 85 megawatts of clean, renewable power secured from BC Hydro.

NVIDIA Technology at the Core

At full scale, the cluster will house AI infrastructure featuring high-performance NVIDIA GPUs capable of supporting large-scale AI model training, complex simulations, and production-scale deployment. TELUS describes itself as the first North American service provider to become an official NVIDIA Cloud Partner.

The infrastructure will incorporate NVIDIA's Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell platforms, connected with NVIDIA Quantum InfiniBand and NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet networking, and powered by NVIDIA AI Enterprise software.

Ronnie Vasishta, Senior Vice President of Telecom at NVIDIA, said AI-native companies are already training, deploying, and scaling on TELUS' NVIDIA-powered platform, and described the expansion as validation of how telecommunications companies can serve as the infrastructure layer of a nation's economic future.

Sustainability Design Standards

TELUS is positioning the Vancouver facilities as some of the world's most sustainable sovereign AI data centers. The sites will be powered by 98% renewable energy and are designed to integrate into the City of Vancouver's Neighborhood Energy Utility in Mount Pleasant and Creative Energy's downtown district energy system. The company says these connections will support the decarbonization of over 50 million square feet of real estate.

A closed-loop liquid cooling system is central to the facilities' design. TELUS states the system will reduce cooling energy consumption by 80% compared to traditional data centers, while recycling electricity as carbon-free thermal energy.

The company says the recovered heat will be sufficient to warm the equivalent of 150,000 homes in the Metro Vancouver area, lowering energy costs for British Columbians. Water consumption is projected to run 90% lower than conventional data centers, with plans to incorporate recycled water from BC Place.

Entwistle stated the facilities will eliminate what he described as the overall carbon footprint of the operations through the heat recovery and renewable energy combination.

Federal Government Framing

The Honorable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, said securing Canada's technological independence is a national priority requiring concrete infrastructure investment.

Solomon framed the collaboration with TELUS as action to strengthen Canada's sovereign AI capacity and ensure that Canadian innovation, data and economic advantages remain anchored within the country.

The federal Enabling Large-Scale Sovereign AI Data Centers initiative is the program framework under which TELUS is pursuing the B.C. cluster development. The program is described as designed to build sovereign, high-performance AI compute infrastructure to allow Canada to compete in the global AI economy.

Economic Impact Claims

TELUS says the B.C. cluster expansion, combined with the broader scaling of its sovereign AI infrastructure to more than 60,000 GPUs, represents a USD 9 billion injection into the Canadian economy. The company did not break down in its announcement how that figure was calculated or over what time period it would be realized.

Westbank founder and CEO Ian Gillespie described the project as an example of what he called true Canadian innovation, citing Westbank's prior involvement in district energy work as part of its interest in the data center collaboration.

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