Ontario Premier Ford Dumps Out Crown Royal Bottle After Distiller Moves Plant to US

Ontario Premier Doug Ford empties a Crown Royal bottle of whisky at a press conference in Kitchener, Ont., on Sept. 2, 2025. The Canadian Press/Sammy Kogan

Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed his displeasure over Crown Royal shutting down a plant in Ontario by pouring out a bottle of its whisky.

“This is what I think about Crown Royal. That’s what they can do, and I think everyone else should do the same thing,” Ford said as he dumped out the bottle during a press conference on Sept. 2.

Ford encouraged Canadians to start supporting companies that make alcohol in Ontario. He joked that he would be sending “the cleaning bill” to Crown Royal for pouring the alcohol out.

Diageo, owner of Crown Royal, announced on Aug. 28 that it would be closing its plant in Amherstburg, which bottles the whiskey, in order to increase efficiency. The move will lead to around 160 workers losing their jobs.

The company said the move is being made to shift some bottling volume “to its many U.S. Crown Royal consumers,” and that it would unlock “additional productivity” for the company.

Diageo added that Crown Royal, which was established in 1939, will continue to be distilled and aged in Canada, and the company will maintain a “significant footprint” across the country. This includes its Canadian headquarters and warehouse operations in Toronto, and bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec.

“This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s president of North America supply, said in a statement.

UNIFOR Local 200, which represents the workers at the Diageo plant in Amherstburg, said in a statement that the company “did not have the decency or dignity” to warn the union or members before the decision was announced.

“This facility is the largest employer in Amherstburg and the heart and soul of the community. The decision to close the plant makes no sense and shows no loyalty to Canadian workers,” said Unifor Local 200 President John D’Agnolo.

Ford also said at the press conference that the workers at Crown Royal were “devastated” by the news, adding that he would “stand up for the people of Ontario.”

In February, in response to U.S. tariffs on Canada, Ford ordered the Liquor Control Board of Ontario to remove all American products from its stores’ shelves, replacing them instead with Ontario and Canadian-made alcohol.

Other provinces, such as British Columbia, Quebec, and Nova Scotia, also took similar action by directing businesses to stop purchasing U.S. alcohol or to remove it from shelves. Alberta and Saskatchewan have since reversed their similar orders, putting U.S. liquor back on store shelves.