Nutrien to move two executives to the province

Company also planning increased production, new office building

The head of the world’s largest fertilizer company, which has come under scrutiny following an exodus of its executives from Saskatchewan, plans to relocate two members of its senior management team to the province this year.

Nutrien Ltd. CEO Chuck Magro is expected to make the announcement at a Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce event on Thursday, during which he will also tout the new company’s economic impact in the province.

According to an internal memo circulated Tuesday, that includes an expanded workforce in the province, increased potash production and a new office building at River Landing, “a powerful symbol of our passion for this province.”

“I will also speak about how Nutrien is different than either predecessor company, and that this was by design. Our new company is more competitive and more stable in its earnings profile, which brings benefits for all stakeholders,” he said in the memo.

Nutrien was formed on Jan. 1, 2018 in the merger of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc., a multi-billion-dollar transaction that some insiders later said was “won” by the Calgary-based agriculture retail company.

The provincial government, which had previously issued warnings about keeping the head office in Saskatchewan, sounded the alarm in November after the Saskatoon Starphoenix reported that all but one of Nutrien’s senior executives live elsewhere.

Susan Jones, who heads the company’s potash operations, lives in Saskatoon. The company’s eight other top executives — including Magro, CFO Pedro Farah and six executive vice-presidents — live and work in Calgary, Northbrook, Ill., and Loveland, Col.

The company won’t say which two executive vice-presidents it plans to move to Saskatoon, but Nutrien spokesman Will Tigley confirmed Tuesday that the provincial government is aware of the company’s plans.

It isn’t clear, however, whether the relocation of two senior executives will satisfy Premier Scott Moe.

Formed as a Crown corporation in 1979 and privatized a decade later, Potashcorp is understood to occupy a unique place in Saskatchewan, largely as a symbol of homegrown success and an abundant provincial resource.

It and its successor corporations are, partly as a result, subject to unique legislation that requires the chief executive, chief financial officer and “head office functions” to remain in Saskatchewan.

While the legislation is toothless and likely difficult to enforce, the province has on three occasions raised it: during BHP’S failed attempt to take over Potashcorp in 2010, in the lead-up to the merger and again late last year.

A commitment to maintaining a strong and vital corporate headquarters in Saskatchewan … is the key aspect for the Government’s support.

According to a government briefing note obtained through freedom of information legislation, the notyet-combined companies raised concerns about that demand in a letter sent to then-premier Brad Wall one month before the transaction closed.

In the letter, the board chairs of Agrium and Potashcorp said they planned to move two “new business functions” to Saskatoon resulting in “at least” a 15-per-cent increase in the number of corporate office positions in the city.

(Magro said in the memo circulated this week that the company has about 30 per cent more employees in its Saskatoon office than did Potashcorp before the merger. In June 2018, about 300 people were working in the office.)

However, the board chairs said they were concerned about “specific (Government of Saskatchewan) demands regarding the residency of senior executives running businesses beyond potash,” according to the briefing note.

“A commitment to maintaining a strong and vital corporate headquarters in Saskatchewan, with the majority of senior executives in Saskatoon, is the key aspect for the Government’s support,” Wall said in a return letter, according to the note. “As long as either the Chief Executive Officer or the Chairman of the Board works and resides in Saskatchewan, the Government of Saskatchewan is satisfied with your current head office plans.”

In an interview with the Starphoenix late last year, following a meeting with Magro and Nutrien board chair Derek Pannell, Moe said the company should have “a strong presence of their executive team here in the province.”

The provincial government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.