{"id":190671,"date":"2025-10-05T03:44:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T03:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/190671\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T03:44:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T03:44:07","slug":"ford-doubles-down-on-pulling-crown-royal-off-lcbo-shelves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/190671\/","title":{"rendered":"Ford doubles down on pulling Crown Royal off LCBO shelves"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on the CEO of Stellantis to open the Brampton assembly plant after work was paused in February. <\/p>\n

Premier Doug Ford doubled down on his threat to remove Crown Royal from LCBO shelves if the plan to shut down its bottling facility in Southwestern Ontario moves ahead next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cA message to all the bigwigs at Diageo: I swear to God, those bottles of Crown Royal are coming off the LCBO shelves. When the last person walks out through that door, we\u2019re going to make sure LCBO takes off their brands because we need to stick together,\u201d Ford said during a union rally in Brampton on Saturday.<\/p>\n

NEW: Premier Doug Ford emphatic now that Crown Royal and other Diageo brands will be pulled from LCBO shelves when a Crown bottling plant in Amherstburg closes in February.<\/p>\n

“When the last person walks out through that door, we’re going to make sure LCBO takes off their brands.” pic.twitter.com\/8NbUfzefCM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Siobhan Morris (@siomoCTV) October 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the first time the premier has publicly declared how his government will respond to the impending closure of the Amherstburg bottling plant in February. Ford previously said Diageo would face \u201cconsequences,\u201d but never elaborated further.<\/p>\n

CTV News Toronto has reached out to Diageo for comment on Ford\u2019s remarks. We have also reached out to the premier\u2019s office and the LCBO for more information.<\/p>\n

Diageo, which also owns dozens of other well-known brands, including Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Baileys, Smirnoff and Captain Morgan, announced in August that it was closing the bottling plant, saying it was part of a plan to \u201cstreamline its North American supply chain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly 200 people work at the facility, which has been operating for nearly a century.<\/a><\/p>\n

The company added that it was a difficult decision and maintained that Crown Royal would still be mashed, distilled and aged in Canada. Diageo also noted that the company will continue to have a presence in Canada, including their Canadian headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area.<\/p>\n

Following the announcement of the closure, Ford, during an unrelated news conference on Sept. 2, dumped a bottle of Crown Royal whisky in front of reporters.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Ontario Premier Doug Ford empties a Crown Royal bottle of whisky at a press conference in Kitchener, Ont., on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Sammy Kogan Ontario Premier Doug Ford empties a Crown Royal bottle of whisky at a press conference in Kitchener, Ont., on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. Ford criticized the popular whisky’s parent company, Diageo, for their plan to close one of their Ontario bottling plants in the coming months. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Sammy Kogan (Sammy Kogan\/The Canadian Press) <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what I think about Crown Royal. That\u2019s what they could do. And I think everyone else should do the same thing,\u201d Ford said as the amber liquid slowly emptied out of the bottle.<\/p>\n

He called the makers of Crown Royal \u201cdumb as a bag of hammers\u201d for shutting down the plant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho targets their largest customer?\u201d Ford said, appearing incensed, before he dumped the whisky. \u201cThe people of Ontario support this company, and their payroll is 16, maybe $17 million. So, you\u2019re jeopardizing $740 million worth of business for what, $17 million? And you\u2019re going to hurt a community; you\u2019re going to make these people struggle?\u201d<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s \u201cProtect Canadian Jobs\u201d rally<\/a> was organized by Unifor and held in front of the Stellantis Assembly Plant in Brampton.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy number one job is to protect the workers, to protect their jobs, to protect their communities, and as I said, I will not spare a penny to make sure that we have your backs. We will not waver,\u201d Ford told those who were at the rally.<\/p>\n

With files from Joshua Freeman and Siobhan Morris<\/p>\n