The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that BCE is planning to spend $1.7-billion to build a 300-megawatt artificial-intelligence data centre outside Regina, the latest addition to the telco's AI ambitions as it aims to diversify its revenue streams. The Globe's Irene Galea and Joe Castaldo write that BCE said the facility, which will be located in the Saskatchewan rural municipality of Sherwood, will be the largest in Canada once completed. Demand for data centres is booming around the world as governments and companies race to invest in the growth and adoption of AI. The data centre will be rented by two main U.S. tenants and will get its power from energy Crown corporation Saskatchewan Power Corp. While the data-centre campus will come with substantial upfront costs, which will require the company to take on more debt, BCE estimates that the project will not increase its debt leverage, and expects revenue, earnings and free cash flow to catch up within three years. Desjardins analyst Jérome Dubreuil called the project "short term pain" for "longer-term gain," given the project's low-risk structure and "attractive" return profile. "Over all, we view this AI infrastructure investment positively."