Manitoba's government explored outside financial advice last fall on two major energy-linked proposals: a hyperscale artificial intelligence data centre near Winnipeg and a revived Nelson River hydroelectric project that could cost $18 billion to $20 billion, according to documents obtained by CBC News.
The emails, meeting notes and pitch material reported by CBC show senior provincial officials spoke in October and November 2025 with advisers from Rothschild & Co., including advisers in New York City and Washington, D.C. The discussions came as Manitoba weighed how surging demand for AI computing could collide with the province's electricity needs, Manitoba Hydro's debt load and the cost of building new power supply.
Premier Wab Kinew now says a large AI data centre is no longer being pursued, but he remains interested in bringing the long-shelved Conawapa dam proposal back into consideration.
A data-centre push that cooled
The documents say Manitoba officials looked at whether Rothschild & Co. could help the province move quickly on an AI data centre that would draw 250 to 300 megawatts from Manitoba Hydro's grid. CBC reported that amount is roughly enough electricity to power 150,000 homes; facilities requiring more than 100 megawatts are considered hyperscale data centres.
Meeting notes described Manitoba as having an opening because of available power, hydroelectricity's low-carbon profile, lower cooling costs and the possibility of faster permitting. The notes also said the premier wanted accelerated timelines and that market interest in AI data centres could decline within 12 to 24 months.
Kinew later said the province concluded hyperscale data centres would consume too much scarce electricity for uncertain long-term economic benefit. “In the end, we said, ‘No, that doesn’t make sense,’” he told reporters, according to CBC.
Conawapa returns to the table
The same documents show Manitoba revisited Conawapa, a proposed 1,485-megawatt dam and generating station downstream from existing Manitoba Hydro facilities on the Nelson River. The project was put on hold in 2014 after its projected cost neared $10 billion and the Public Utilities Board found no strong business case while the smaller Keeyask project was still under construction.
The financial backdrop is difficult. CBC reported Manitoba Hydro has about $25 billion in net debt, partly tied to Keeyask and the Bipole III transmission line, while Manitoba's net debt is expected to approach $40 billion in the coming year.
Rothschild & Co.'s pitch document said the province's challenge would be to structure funding that uses third-party private capital without worsening the provincial balance sheet. Options identified in the document included partnerships with major Canadian pension funds, equity in the project or provincial land offered to private partners.
Kinew said he was not aware the province ever formally retained Rothschild & Co. and said Manitoba sought advice from multiple financial advisers. He has argued that projects of this size warrant a broad look at financing and possible partners. Opposition Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan, meanwhile, said Kinew must explain why a government that has criticized hydro privatization was considering private involvement in a dam.
The unresolved question is whether Manitoba moves from preliminary advice to a formal plan for new generation — and, if Conawapa is revived, how much control and financial risk the public utility and province would retain.
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