Okay so picture this: Ontario Premier Doug Ford, standing in front of cameras, absolutely done-done, dumping Crown Royal like it’s a toxic ex who just ghosted Windsor. That was last fall. And now? He’s back, louder, sassier, and threatening to fully cancel Crown Royal from the LCBO if Diageo (owner of Crown Royal) shuts down its Amherstburg bottling plant and leaves about 200 workers jobless. Sir is not whispering anymore.
At a press conference near Queen’s Park, Ford doubled down and basically said, “If you hurt Ontario, you’re cut off.” The LCBO, casually one of the biggest booze buyers on the planet, might pull Crown Royal entirely next month if Diageo follows through on closing the Windsor-area plant by Feb. 28. And yes, this is the same government that already banned U.S. alcohol over Donald Trump’s tariffs, so Ford has form when it comes to alcohol-based revenge.
Diageo, meanwhile, is trying to be calm, corporate, and reassuring. In an emailed statement, the global alcohol giant insisted Crown Royal will still be mashed, distilled, and aged in Canada “just as it has been since 1939.” Bottling for Canada, they say, is moving to Quebec. Manitoba still plays a role. Everything is totally fine. Please stop yelling.
Doug Ford was not buying it. At all.
“It’s a bunch of BS,” he said, flat out, telling reporters he believes all Crown Royal production is headed to a shiny new plant in Alabama. “Mark my words, it’s going to Alabama.” Not subtle. Not diplomatic. Very much “I know what you did.”
And here’s the thing: the part going to Alabama is specifically bottling for the U.S. market. But optics matter, and from Ford’s perspective, Ontario just got hit twice. First, the plant closure. Second, Diageo quietly backing out of a planned $245-million distillery in St. Clair, Ont. near Sarnia. That’s two big promises gone, and Ford is taking it personally.
“They pulled the carpet out from underneath us,” he said, pointing out that Ontario is Diageo’s No. 1 customer. His logic is simple, almost aggressively so: if your best customer spends hundreds of millions of dollars with you, why would you hurt them? And if you do? Congratulations, you’ve unlocked consequences.
While Ford hinted before that he could come for other Diageo brands like Smirnoff or Guinness, he’s now laser-focused on Crown Royal. This is about sending a message. To Diageo. To other companies. To anyone thinking of playing Ontario while cashing Ontario cheques.
Unions are watching closely. Workers at the Amherstburg plant say the move south matters because Alabama is a right-to-work state with weaker union protections. Still, Unifor Local 200 president John D’Agnolo says there’s no proof all Canadian Crown Royal production is leaving Canada. He supports Ford’s move but admits it’s probably too late to change Diageo’s mind.
And the fallout? It’s real. Amherstburg is a town of about 24,000 people that’s relied on this plant for nearly a century. Some workers are landing elsewhere, including at Stellantis, but the closure still hits hard. Meanwhile, unions in Manitoba and Quebec are nervously watching to see if an LCBO ban could ripple into layoffs there, too.
So yeah. This isn’t just about whisky. It’s about jobs, trade wars, political theatre, and Doug Ford using the LCBO like it’s Ontario’s most powerful breakup text.
Bottom line? Crown Royal might still be Canadian, but in Doug Ford’s world, loyalty matters. And right now, this bottle is on very thin ice.
XOXO,
Valley Girl News
Ontario’s unofficial LCBO gossip correspondent
