The Canadian Companies Building AI Infrastructure (and Why They Matter)

BCE Inc (TSX:BCE) is building an AI data centre south of Regina, Saskatchewan.

Andrew Button

Andrew Button is a freelance financial writer with extensive experience writing about stocks, real estate and managed products. His portfolio consists mainly of blue chip dividend paying stocks and index funds. He has completed the Canadian Securities Course and passed the CFA Level 1 exam. Follow Andrew on Twitter: twitter.com/AJButton2

Published February 21, 10:00 am EST

Did you know that Canadian companies are among the world’s biggest players in AI infrastructure?

Not many people know it, but it’s true.

Canadian companies are among the biggest suppliers of energy to U.S. AI companies, as well as some of the biggest operators of AI data centres. In this article, I explore just a few of the many Canadian companies building AI infrastructure, starting with one that may surprise you.

BCE Inc

BCE (TSX:BCE) is a Canadian telecommunications company that is best known for running media outlets and providing cellular/internet service to Canadians. Few ever saw this company branching out into AI, but now that’s what’s happening.

BCE made statements to the effect that it was working on AI long ago; more recently, it made its plans clear. Last week, the company announced its plan to build an AI data centre in Regina, Saskatchewan. The plan will see Bell construct a 160-acre giant of a facility, with an aim to create a national AI computing network.

What will BCE’s AI data centre be used for?

For now, the program’s goals are vague, but BCE is known to be partnering with universities to fund research projects, and selling computing to other companies. So, this project could be a massive revenue driver for BCE.

Brookfield

Several of Brookfield Corporation’s (TSX:BN) subsidiaries are involved in building out Canadian and global AI infrastructure.

Most obviously, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (TSX:BIP.UN) is building out a network of AI data centres across Canada and the United States. The company signs long-term “take or pay” deals with “hyperscalers,” where the big companies pay for the real estate, power grids and cooling systems, while bringing in their own servers. This is a clever business model because it leaves BIP.UN without the responsibility of paying for pricey NVIDIA GPUs whose ROI is questionable at the moment. Instead, BIP.UN simply collects rent from the companies doing the big spending.

Less obviously, Brookfield Renewable Partners (TSX:BEP.UN) is supplying clean energy to the big American AI giants. The company signed an agreement to supply Microsoft with 10 gigawatts of clean power in 2024; it followed that up by signing a similar deal with Alphabet in 2025. These deals are projected to generate billions in revenue. They’ll also likely raise Brookfield’s profile.

So, Brookfield Corp is one company that, through its partially-owned subsidiaries, is powering the AI revolution.

Granite

Granite REIT (TSX:GRT.UN) is a Canadian industrial real estate investment trust that is currently exploring the possibility of converting some of its properties into data centres. It already owns a portfolio of warehouse, multi-purpose and specialized facilities serving industrial tenants. AI data centres are similar to warehouses in that they require a lot of space to house mostly things rather than people. Granite REIT is not directly making money off AI yet, but the plans and the potential are both there.

Foolish takeaway

The bottom line on Canadian infrastructure developers is that they are doing big things in AI. Generative AI requires power, data centres and telco equipment, and Canada has all three of these key assets in spades. This advantage positions the companies above perfectly in the age of AI, whether or not big tech ever sees a return on its GPU spending.