(Image Credit: The Canadian Press)

By James Peters

Data Centre

Bell Canada nearly ready to flip the switch on its AI data centre in Merritt

Mar 25, 2026 | 8:19 AM

MERRITT, B.C. — Bell Canada has revealed more details about what is planned for its new AI data centre in Merritt, which is expected to be up and running in the coming weeks.

The telecommunications giant announced plans for the new facility near the Merritt Municipal Airport last June, saying it would form a key component of a Bell AI Fabric supercluster in B.C.

In a news release issued Wednesday (March 25), Bell says BUZZ High Performance Computing (HPC) will use 6.5 megawatts of power at the data centre to “continue scaling its next-generation GPU (graphics processing unit) clusters for commercial use.”

“Powered by BUZZ HPC’s specialized high-density, liquid-cooled infrastructure and accelerated GPU compute, the facility provides the design, implementation and scaling expertise required for complex AI workloads, including inference and training,” notes the release.

When it was announced last year, Mayor Mike Goetz said the company’s decision “reflects our unique strengths – clean energy, affordable land and a central location that connects key regions of B.C. This is a smart, forward-looking investment in Merritt’s future.”

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