Ontario Reaches $23 Million Deal With Crown Royal Manufacturer to Keep Drink on LCBO Shelves

A bottle of Crown Royal Canadian whisky is seen in Burlington, Ont., on Aug. 28, 2025. The Canadian Press/Sean Vokey

The government of Ontario says Crown Royal will stay on liquor store shelves after the province reached a nearly $23 million deal with the beverage’s producer.

Premier Doug Ford previously said that Crown Royal whisky, manufactured by Diageo, would be taken off the shelves of Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) stores after the company announced it would be closing its facility in Amherstburg, Ont.

The company announced in September 2025 that it was moving some of its bottling operations to the United States, and products sold in the Canadian market would be handled by its Valleyfield, Que., facility. Diageo said the Ontario facility would close in February 2026. The move was expected to impact about 170 employees at the facility.

Ford responded by dumping a bottle of Crown Royal whisky on the ground during a Sept. 2 news conference. He repeated several times since then that he would pull the whisky off LCBO shelves unless the company reconsidered its plans.

His government announced the deal on Feb. 13, with Ford saying the investment would “keep Ontario workers on the job, strengthen provincial supply chains and support the local community in Amherstburg and the surrounding area.”

“By standing firm in our plan to protect Ontario workers, we’ve secured nearly $23 million in investments that Ontario would not otherwise have seen,” Ford said.

According to the province, Diegeo has committed to $500,000 in Invest WindsorEssex for economic development, and another $500,000 for other community projects in Amherstburg.

It has also agreed to invest $11 million to buy grain neutral spirits from Greenfield Global in Johnstown; $3 million in ready-to-drink canned beverages, such as of Crown Royal, Smirnoff vodka, and Captain Morgan rum, through a Toronto-based co-packer; $1 million to help fund organizations to support growth of Ontario’s agriculture sector; $2 million in new packaging for pre-mixed beverages through a co-manufacturer in Scarborough; $5 million in Ontario-based marketing and promotion; and a commitment to “explore options” to establish a new canning facility in Ontario.

Ford’s intention to pull the liquor off store shelves in Ontario was criticized by Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who said such a move would hurt jobs in Manitoba and asked Ford to “stop his plan.”

Kinew was at a Diageo plant north of Winnipeg, in Gimli, Man., where the whisky is mashed, distilled, and aged, when he made the comments in January.

He said he had spoken to Ford twice and asked him to reconsider, saying Canada should have a united front. Kinew said he recognized Ford’s stance was to protect jobs for Ontario, but that the jobs at the Gimli plant in his own province were “super, super important.”

‘Olive Branch’

After months of saying Crown Royal would be taken off Ontario liquor store shelves, Ford said he offered an “olive branch” to Diageo in January, saying he told the company to “show me a plan” that would replace the job losses due to the closed facility.

Ford previously told reporters that “there’s quite a few interested parties” looking at taking over Diageo’s facility in Amherstburg. He said at the time that whichever company takes over the building will be looking to hire former Diageo employees.

Diageo owns Crown Royal, Smirnoff, and several other well-known liquor brands, including Guinness, Baileys, and Captain Morgan.

Jennifer Cowan contributed to this report.