Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province will remove all Diageo-owned alcohol brands from government liquor stores when the spirits giant closes its Crown Royal bottling plant next year, affecting roughly 200 workers.
“When the last person walks out through that door, we’re going to make sure LCBO takes off their brands,” Ford said Saturday at a union rally in Brampton, making his most definitive statement yet on the government’s response to the facility closure.
The ban would affect dozens of popular brands, including Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Baileys, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, and Tanqueray, among others owned by the London-based multinational.
Diageo announced in August it would close the Amherstburg bottling facility in February 2026 as part of efforts to consolidate its North American operations. The company said the whisky’s production process would remain in Canada, with Canadian bottling operations continuing at its Valleyfield, Quebec plant. The union believes much of the work will move to Diageo facilities in the United States.
Ford has sharply criticized the decision, arguing that Ontario’s Liquor Control Board is Diageo’s largest North American customer with approximately $740 million in annual sales. At a September news conference, he poured out a bottle of Crown Royal, calling company executives “dumb as a bag of hammers.”
The premier said he offered incentives to keep the plant open, but the company declined.
Diageo maintains it remains committed to Canada and employs 500 people across the country in its headquarters, warehouse, and production facilities.
The threatened ban follows Ontario’s February decision to pull American-made alcohol from LCBO shelves during a trade dispute with the United States. The province controls most alcohol sales through the government-run LCBO.
Union representatives have supported Ford’s stance, calling for other provinces to use similar leverage to protect Canadian jobs.
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