Telus no longer a partner in Westbank's two Vancouver AI data centre projects | Daily Hive

2026 concept of the 10-storey AI data centre at 150 West Georgia St., Vancouver. (Westbank)

Telus is no longer a partner with local developer Westbank to build two artificial intelligence (AI) data centres within Vancouver, but the developer says both projects will continue under a new partnership.

The pivot comes about six months after both companies formally announced their plans for major new AI data centre facilities at 150 West Georgia St. (on Beatty Street, immediately next to BC Place Stadium) in Downtown Vancouver, and within the existing M3 office building at 111 East 5th Ave. (near Main Street) in the Mount Pleasant Industrial Area.

In response to inquiries from Daily Hive Urbanized yesterday, both companies confirmed that Telus is no longer involved in the two Vancouver projects, which are under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Enabling Large-Scale Sovereign AI Data Centres initiative.

“TELUS has decided not to proceed with co-developing two previously announced Vancouver data centres with Westbank,” said a Telus spokesperson.

Westbank separately confirmed the telecommunications company’s departure while maintaining that it fully intends to move ahead with a different partner that has yet to be publicly announced.

“We can confirm that Telus is no longer a partner on the two Vancouver projects but we are proceeding with a new partnership,” said a Westbank spokesperson.

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Telus noted that it is advancing other plans to expand Canadian AI computing infrastructure, including an expansion of its existing Kamloops facility.

“TELUS remains committed to advancing Canada’s digital sovereignty to build the secure, sustainable, high-performance compute infrastructure our country needs to lead in the global AI economy,” continued the Telus spokesperson.

The telecommunications company is expanding the Kamloops facility to 20 megawatts (MW) by the end of 2028. Data centre capacity is typically measured in MW because available electrical power and cooling capacity largely determine how much computing equipment a facility can operate.

Telus is also considering development partners and locations for further expansion of its AI data centre infrastructure elsewhere in B.C.

Telus is working with the provincial and federal governments and aligning its plans with the federal AI data centre initiative. The Telus spokesperson attributes the expansion to growing demand at its existing facilities and says the company will release more details about its strategy in the coming months.

The original Telus-Westbank partnership announcement in May 2026 formally revealed the two Vancouver projects and the Kamloops expansion as a three-site network intended to provide Canadian-controlled computing infrastructure for businesses, post-secondary institutions, researchers, public institutions, and governments. The federal government has determined a need for such “sovereign” facilities for national security reasons — a strategy to keep AI computing infrastructure and sensitive data in Canada and under Canadian control, reducing the reliance on foreign providers.

At the time, Telus said it had secured an initial 85 MW of electricity from BC Hydro for the network, with combined capacity expected to exceed 150 MW by 2032. Both Vancouver projects were expected to be ready before the end of this decade.

The change in strategy also comes after the departure of longtime Telus CEO Darren Entwistle at the end of June 2026. He was replaced by Victor Dodig, a former CEO of CIBC.

The two Vancouver projects involve substantially different approaches.

At 111 East 5th Ave. in Mount Pleasant, Westbank wants to convert M3 — the existing six-storey office building within its Main Alley campus that previously housed part of Hootsuite’s headquarters — into a data centre.

The rezoning application would allow data storage uses throughout the office floors and convert underground parking levels for supporting equipment and other facilities. A restaurant would be added at ground level. No increase in the building’s overall size is proposed. Westbank’s project website describes M3 as a 26 MW facility.

But this Mount Pleasant proposal remains subject to further public consultation. On July 21, the previous Vancouver City Council returned the rezoning application’s referral report to City of Vancouver staff, removing it from the July 23 public hearing agenda and requesting that additional public consultation be performed after the October civic election.

The municipal government has since announced another formal public consultation period for the M3 application, running from Dec. 2 to 15, 2026.

Existing condition:

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Existing condition of the M3 office building at 111 East 5th Ave., Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan)

Future condition:

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2025 concept for the conversion of the M3 office building at 111 East 6th Ave., Vancouver, into an AI data centre. (WZMH Architects/Westbank)

m3 main alley ai data centre westbank telus 111 East 5th Avenue 2060 Quebec Street vancouver 1

Artistic rendering of the AI data centre at Main Alley tech campus’ M3 building at 111 East 5th Ave. and 2060 Quebec St., Vancouver. (WZMH Architects/Westbank)

At 150 West Georgia St., a new 10-storey AI data centre building is planned for a site previously set for a major new office building. A rezoning application is not needed, as data centre uses are already permitted for the site; a 2023-approved rezoning text amendment permits bulk data storage on this property.

This Downtown Vancouver project’s specific location is highly strategic for environmental reasons, as it would be fully integrated with Creative Energy’s steam plant below the data centre on the same site. Major construction work is currently ongoing for an expanded and electrified steam plant — transitioning away from its decades-long use of natural gas boilers — with its below-grade structure on Expo Boulevard forming a part of the foundations for the planned data centre building above Beatty Street.

Through its bulk steam heat and extensive network of underground pipes, this Creative Energy facility already provides spatial heating and hot water for over 200 buildings — totalling about 50 million sq. ft. of building floor area — across the Downtown Vancouver peninsula. Extensive heat recovered from the data centre would be used to help produce the steam to heat these buildings, effectively greatly reducing the energy — electricity and/or natural gas — required to produce the steam heat.

The May 2026 announcement also noted the possibility of connecting the M3 data centre facility to the City’s Neighbourhood Energy Utility.

Existing condition:

720 beatty street 150 west georgia street vancouver steam plant creative energy

The existing Creative Energy steam plant at 150 West Georgia St. (720 Beatty St.), Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan)

Future condition:

telus ai data centre facility 150 west georgia street vancouver westbank

2026 concept of the 10-storey AI data centre at 150 West Georgia St., Vancouver. (Westbank)

150 west georgia street vancouver westbank telus allied reit ai data centre concept

2026 concept of the 10-storey AI data centre at 150 West Georgia St., Vancouver. (Westbank)

Both Vancouver data centre projects have prompted protests and rallies over the past half year. Opponents have raised concerns about electricity and water consumption, noise, the use of centrally-located urban land, and whether the facilities would provide enough lasting local jobs and public benefits. Critics have also linked their opposition to broader economic concerns about AI replacing workers.

Moving forward, data centre projects also face the prospect of closer scrutiny under Vancouver’s newly elected City Council.

On Nov. 18, City Council is scheduled to consider a member motion from Vancouver city councillor Lucy Maloney seeking stronger oversight of data centres. Her proposal would explore requiring applicants to commission third-party independent assessments of potential water use, emissions, noise, heat, and employment impacts before rezoning or permitting.

It would also examine a dedicated business licence requiring annual public disclosure of water and electricity consumption and noise levels, along with possible fees or contributions to secure public benefits. The motion requests further policy work by City staff; it would not itself immediately enact those requirements.

“Westbank and TELUS have had a longstanding successful relationship for over a decade. While our Vancouver projects will be proceeding under a new partnership, we look forward to continuing our working relationship with TELUS in other capacities and will be sharing more details in the near future,” said a spokesperson representing the two Vancouver data centre projects.

“We are supportive of Councillor Lucy Maloney’s motion to study compute infrastructure and how it can be implemented thoughtfully, because we share her objective of helping Vancouver demonstrate leadership in highly sustainable net positive compute. There will be more to follow on our initiative to create sovereign net positive compute infrastructure for Canada.”

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