Ford lashes out against Diageo again - threatens to pull products

The Crown Royal facility in Amherstburg to close in February 2026. Photo courtesy of Windsor Aerial Drone Photography

Crown Royal could be leaving LCBO shelves should the company follow through with its planned plant closure in Amherstburg.

The bottling plant on St. Arnaud St. faces closure in Feb. 2026 and Premier Doug Ford has threatened to pull the company’s products from the LCBO, including Crown Royal. 

Ford appeared at a rally in Brampton last weekend and told the crowd that Crown Royal would be leaving store shelves next February upon closure of the plant.

“As sure as I’m standing here, to all the bigwigs at Diageo, I swear to God, those bottles of Crown Royal are coming off the LCBO shelves,” Ford stated at the rally. “When the last person walks through the door, we’re going to make sure the LCBO takes off those brands because we need to stick together.”

Essex MPP Anthony Leardi posted the Ford quote, along with a photo of him dumping out a bottle of Crown Royal.

Multiple media outlets reported that news, as well as a Monday afternoon dig the premier took at the company. According to a report on CTV’s website, Ford stated “who in their right mind, any business person with half a brain, would go after their largest customer in North America?”

Ford was also quoted by CTV as saying: “Diageo, we do over $765 million, more than any jurisdiction anywhere in the U.S. or in Canada, and they want to close down a plant? Over what? $8 million of wages they think they are going to save.”

Smirnoff is reportedly the next target to be removed after Crown Royal.

Ford previously called company executives “as dumb as a bag of hammers for doing this.”

Nearly 200 jobs in total are in jeopardy due to the decision.

The unionized workers within the plant are represented by Unifor Local 200. 

The union has continued to fight the decision and retirees rallied outside the plant shortly after the decision was announced in support of their colleagues inside the facility.

Diageo was approached for comment about the most recent developments but did not answer a request for comment as of press time.  In its initial announcement, the company said closing the Amherstburg plant next February is part “of an ongoing commitment to increase efficiency and resiliency of its manufacturing footprint.” 

Diageo added it will maintain operations in Gimli, Manitoba and Valleyfield, Quebec as well as their Canadian headquarters and warehouse operations in the Toronto area.

The company has said the current trade climate with the United States did not play into its decision.

“Through this process, the company will unlock additional productivity and increase resiliency and capacity to scale, effectively meeting demand across its markets and shifting some bottling volume to be closer to its many U.S. Crown Royal consumers. These changes are consistent with the strategic priorities in Diageo’s global Accelerate program, which sets out clear cash delivery targets and a disciplined approach to operational excellence and cost efficiency for the company,” the company stated in August.

Ford lashes out against Diageo again, threatens to pull products

By Ron Giofu