Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien to cut greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2030

DETROIT (AP) — The race for Michigan’s open Senate seat between Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and Republican former congressman Mike Rogers remained too early to call early Wednesday after results in other states showed Democrats lost their slim majority in the upper chamber.

Slotkin had a clear head start as her campaign began, but as Republicans became more confident about Donald Trump’s presidential prospects in Michigan, the contest drew more attention from funders who believed Rogers had a good chance of becoming the first Republican to win a U.S. Senate seat in the state in 30 years.

Slotkin expressed gratitude to her supporters when she took the stage in Detroit early Wednesday. With a third of Michigan’s vote still to be counted, she emphasized that it remained a “tight race.”

“We have had difficult periods in our history before,” Slotkin told the watch party in downtown Detroit. “Over the next few days, the results will come into focus and the task before us will be to come together.”

Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and third-term representative, launched her Senate campaign shortly after Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow announced her retirement in early 2023. With a largely uncontested primary, Slotkin built a significant fundraising advantage, much of which she has poured into ads during the race’s final month. She’s also gained high-profile support from figures like former President Barack Obama and Stabenow, who have helped her on the campaign trail in the final month.

On the Republican side, Rogers faced multiple challengers for the party’s nomination, including former Reps. Justin Amash and Peter Meijer, the latter of whom withdrew before the Aug. 6 primary. Rogers served in the U.S. House from 2001 to 2015 and chaired the House Intelligence Committee.

Rogers would become the first Republican since Spence Abraham in 1994 to win a U.S. Senate race in Michigan.

The presidential race at the top of the ticket was expected to significantly influence the outcome. Rogers repeatedly accused Slotkin of voting “100% with the Biden-Harris agenda” and aligned himself closely with Republican nominee Donald Trump, who endorsed him.

Rogers energized a west Michigan crowd late Monday night, just before Trump’s final campaign rally in Grand Rapids, assuring voters, “Come tomorrow, we will have your backs.” Later, Trump praised Rogers on stage, calling him “amazing” and saying he was “doing great.”

Slotkin and other Michigan Democrats focused much of their campaigns on reproductive rights, arguing that Republican opponents would back a national abortion ban, although Rogers said he wouldn’t. How effectively the issue motivated voting in a state where reproductive rights were enshrined in the constitution by Michigan voters in 2022 remained to be seen on Election Day.

About 4 in 10 Michigan voters said the economy and jobs is the top issue facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 110,000 voters nationally, including about 3,700 voters in Michigan. About 2 in 10 Michigan voters said immigration is the most pressing issue, and roughly 1 in 10 named abortion.

Slotkin used her funding advantage to establish her narrative early, aiming to connect both with her base and disillusioned Republicans.

“For the Republicans who feel like their party has left them over the last few years, you will always have an open door in my office,” Slotkin said during their only debate.

Metro Detroit could be an area of vulnerability for Slotkin, with frustration over the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war affecting down-ballot Democrats. Slotkin, who is Jewish, has supported Israel while criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Many leaders of the state’s large Muslim community voiced frustration that she and other Democrats haven’t advocated more forcefully for Palestinians.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has won a fourth term, defeating anti-establishment Republican and former NBA player Royce White in Minnesota’s top election matchup.

“To the state of Minnesota. I once again pledge to you I will stand my ground while always seeking common ground,” Klobuchar told cheering supporters in St. Paul. “I will strive every day to be worthy of your faith and trust.”

Klobuchar went into the campaign with a history of big wins and a huge financial advantage. She drew 58% of the vote in 2006, 65% in 2012 and 60% in 2018. And she raised nearly $21 million by the end of the last reporting period in September.

That compares with just under $449,000 for White, who acknowledged he was as surprised as anyone when the state Republican Party endorsed him in May. The self-described populist went on to get a plurality in the August primary against a more conventional Republican, Navy veteran Joe Fraser.

While White has been a strong supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, the former president never endorsed him, and top Minnesota GOP office-holders kept their distance. But his party endorsement effort was backed by Trump strategist Steve Bannon, and White also is allied with conspiracy theorist and Infowars founder Alex Jones.

White tweeted that he’s not done with trying to change the GOP in Minnesota and nationally, and he questioned whether Senate Republicans will use their new majority to put America’s interests first and slow the decline of the nation.

White’s NBA career was cut short by mental health issues, primarily a fear of flying, and he calls his podcast, “Please, Call Me Crazy.” Critics have denounced White’s comments on social media and other forums as misogynistic, homophobic and antisemitic. In an interview with Bannon, he once said: “Look, let’s just be frank. Women have become too mouthy. As the Black man in the room, I’ll say that.”

Tuesday’s victory gives Klobuchar Minnesota’s record for the most consecutive wins by a Democratic senator since the state began directly electing senators in 1918, according to Eric Ostermeier, curator of the Minnesota Historical Election Archive at the University of Minnesota. She’s tied for four terms with Henrik Shipstead, who was elected as a Farmer-Laborite in 1922, 1928 and 1934 and as a Republican in 1940.

Only two Minnesota senators won five terms: Republican Knute Nelson, who was elected by the Legislature for his first three, and Democrat Hubert Humphrey, whose terms were not consecutive.

Klobuchar, who announced her 2019 run for president amid a heavy snowstorm, was chief prosecutor in Minnesota’s largest county when she was first elected to the Senate in 2006.

She chairs the powerful Senate Rules Committee, which examined the security failures surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. And as a member of the Judiciary Committee, she drew attention for her questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.

Klobuchar is the daughter of Jim Klobuchar, a well-known Minneapolis newsman who died in 2022, and Rose Klobuchar, a schoolteacher who died in 2010. Her grandfather was an iron miner.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

CALGARY – MEG Energy Corp. says its full-year production is likely to come in towards the lower end of its forecast range, in part due to the wildfires at its Christina Lake oilsands site in northern Alberta.

The Calgary-based company said it produced 103,298 barrels per day of bitumen in its third quarter, comparable with the 103,726 barrels per day it produced in the same quarter last year.

But over the summer and fall, the company’s Christina Lake site was affected by out-of-control wildfires in the area, leading to a temporary evacuation in July and a one-month delay in the drilling and completion of a new well pad at the site.

CEO Darlene Gates said Wednesday the company’s production was also impacted by severe cold weather at the start of the year.

She said MEG’s average production guidance for 2024 remains unchanged, but will likely come in toward the low end of the 102,000 to 108,000 barrels per day forecast.

MEG earned $167 million in its third quarter, down from $249 million during the same quarter last year, in large part due to lower benchmark oil prices.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:MEG)

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