Ontario officials say they’re considering removing Crown Royal whisky from provincial liquor stores after the brand’s parent company announced plans to shutter a bottling plant and eliminate 200 jobs.
Premier Doug Ford dramatically dumped a bottle of Crown Royal at a Tuesday news conference, calling spirits giant Diageo “dumb as a bag of hammers” for the announced closing of its Amherstburg facility in February 2026. Ford threatened to “hurt” the company, saying Ontario represents $740 million in annual business for Diageo.
Read: Ford Dumps Canadian-Made Crown Royal to Protest Job Losses
The Ministry of Finance said Wednesday that “all options are on the table,” but no final decision would be made until after the plant closes. The response mirrors Ontario’s March decision to pull American spirits from store shelves during a trade dispute with the United States.
Unifor Local 200, representing workers at the plant, has directly urged the government to remove Crown Royal products. “You need to take the alcohol off the shelves because this can happen to anybody,” union president John D’Agnolo said.
NDP legislator Lisa Gretzky said she would support the move if Diageo doesn’t reverse course, while some businesses have already begun boycotting the brand.
London-based Diageo said the closure will improve supply chain efficiency by moving bottling operations closer to US consumers, where Crown Royal is the top-selling whisky. The company emphasized that Crown Royal will continue to be distilled and aged in Canada at facilities in Manitoba and Quebec.
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