Ontario Premier Doug Ford is standing firm on his threat to remove Crown Royal whisky from LCBO shelves as its parent company prepares to close a bottling plant in Amherstburg, Ont.
As Diageo moves ahead with plans to shut down the Amherstburg facility in February, Ford reiterated Monday that Crown Royal will no longer be sold by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.
“Oh, 100 per cent. I can’t wait,” Ford said at a Jan. 5 news conference, when asked if the product would be removed. He referenced a September appearance in which he poured a bottle of Crown Royal onto the pavement in protest of the closure. “But I’m not going to waste another bottle of Crown Royal dumping it.”
The Amherstburg plant closure will result in the elimination of about 200 jobs. The building has been listed for sale, and production is expected to wind down in the coming weeks.
Ford said his focus is limited to Crown Royal for now, despite Diageo’s portfolio of more than 200 brands, which also includes Guinness, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker.
“I’m just going to focus on Crown Royal for now,” the premier said.
Ford added that some displaced workers have already found new opportunities, including third-shift positions beginning in February at a Stellantis assembly plant in Windsor. He said other employers have also expressed interest in hiring affected workers.
Diageo insists Crown Royal remains Canadian
In response to Ford’s comments, Diageo reiterated that Crown Royal will continue to be produced in Canada despite the Amherstburg closure. The company said the whisky will still be mashed, distilled and aged in Canada, as it has been since 1939.
“Crown Royal bottled for the Canadian market will remain bottled in Canada,” Diageo confirmed in a statement.
Following the closure, Diageo said it will continue to employ more than 500 workers across Canada, including over 100 in Ontario. The company will maintain its Canadian headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area, along with distillation and bottling facilities in Gimli, Man., and Valleyfield, Que. Diageo has not said where the Amherstburg jobs will be relocated.
Last year, Diageo announced plans to build a new production facility in Montgomery, Alabama, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term.
The company has said sales of its products generate more than $300 million annually for Canadian bars and restaurants, including about $125 million in Ontario alone.
Workers approve closure deal
In December, Unifor, which represents the Amherstburg workers, announced that 89 per cent of members voted to ratify a negotiated closure agreement with Diageo. The deal includes enhanced severance packages for affected employees.
Despite the agreement, Ford has maintained that pulling Crown Royal from LCBO shelves is an appropriate response to the loss of Ontario jobs tied to the plant’s closure.