Alberta
Nutrien to slightly delay potash production ramp-up as global sales slump
CALGARY — Nutrien Ltd. will slightly delay the timing of its plan to ramp up potash production, due to slumping sales.
The Saskatoon-based company, which is the largest fertilizer producer in the world, announced disappointing fourth-quarter financial results Wednesday evening.
Nutrien Ltd. came in below Wall Street estimates, earning $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, down seven per cent from the same quarter a year earlier.
On a conference call with analysts Thursday, CEO Ken Seitz said Nutrien will slightly delay its previously announced plan to increase its annual potash production capability to 18 million tonnes by 2025, and will instead reach that milestone by 2026 instead.
However, Seitz said long-term fundamentals for potash remain strong, and Nutrien simply wants to be flexible and adjust its plans to match the pace of demand recovery.
“The outlook for our business is strong as we expect global supply issues to persist and demand for crop inputs to increase in 2023,” Seitz said.
It has been a volatile period for Nutrien, which achieved record earnings in 2021 and then saw fertilizer prices spike in March of 2022 as the Russia-Ukraine war shook up global agricultural markets and reduced supplies of fertilizer from Eastern Europe.
To meet increased global demand, Nutrien announced its potash ramp-up plan, which represents an increase of more than five million tonnes, or 40 per cent, compared to 2020 production levels.
The company has said it will achieve this by investing in expansions at its existing Saskatchewan mines, including the hiring of approximately 350 more people.
However, in the second half of 2022, the company suffered what it calls a “historic” decline in the pace of its potash shipments. In North America and Brazil in particular, farmers appeared to be postponing fertilizer purchases in the face of high prices. Last year’s cool wet spring in North America also compressed the planting season and led to less fertilizer going into the ground.
Seitz said the company has seen improved potash demand so far in 2023, but added Nutrien’s estimate for global potash shipments this year is 63 to 67 million tonnes, which is still constrained compared to the historical trend demand of around 70 million tonnes.
In spite of the dramatic decline in potash demands in the second half of 2022, the first six months of the year were so strong that Nutrien’s earnings for the full financial year were $7.7 billion, 142 per cent higher than in 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:TKTK)
Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press
From Bonnyville RCMP
On May 3, 2025, at approximately 6:55 p.m., a male suspect drove a stolen trackhoe into the parking lot of the Bonnyville RCMP. The suspect dumped several boulders in front of the prisoner bay and then proceeded to damage 5 police vehicles, which were parked in the lot. The suspect then fled on foot.
Bonnyville RCMP, Police Dog Services and RPAS (drone), searched for the suspect and he was quickly located in a tree line just north west of the detachment. He was arrested and is currently in custody pending a Judicial
Interim Release Hearing.
The suspect cannot be named at this point as the charges have not been sworn before the courts. An updated media release is expected in the coming days.
Alberta
Pierre Poilievre will run to represent Camrose, Stettler, Hanna, and Drumheller in Central Alberta by-election
From LifeSiteNews
Conservative MP-elect Damien Kurek announced Friday he would be willing to give up his seat as an MP so Pierre Poilievre, who lost his seat Monday, could attempt to re-join Parliament.
Conservative MP-elect Damien Kurek announced Friday he would be willing to give up his seat in a riding that saw the Conservatives easily defeat the Liberals by 46,020 votes in this past Monday’s election. Poilievre had lost his seat to his Liberal rival, a seat which he held for decades, which many saw as putting his role as leader of the party in jeopardy.
Kurek has represented the riding since 2019 and said about his decision, “It has been a tremendous honor to serve the good people of Battle River—Crowfoot.”
“After much discussion with my wife Danielle, I have decided to step aside for this Parliamentary session to allow our Conservative Party Leader to run here in a by-election,” he added.
Newly elected Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney used his first post-election press conference to say his government will unleash a “new economy” that will further “deepen” the nation’s ties to the world.
He also promised that he would “trigger” a by-election at once, saying there would be “no games” trying to prohibit Poilievre to run and win a seat in a safe Conservative riding.
Poilievre, in a statement posted to X Friday, said that it was with “humility and appreciation that I have accepted Damien Kurek’s offer to resign his seat in Battle River-Crowfoot so that I can work to earn the support of citizens there to serve them in Parliament.”
“Damien’s selfless act to step aside temporarily as a Member of Parliament shows his commitment to change and restoring Canada’s promise,” he noted.
“I will work to earn the trust of the good people of Battle River-Crowfoot and I will continue to hold the Liberal minority government to account until the next federal election, when we will bring real change to all Canadians.”
Carney said a new cabinet will be sworn in on May 12.
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