Ontario Premier Doug Ford is escalating his fight with British-based alcohol maker Diageo, threatening to “leverage” the purchasing power of the LCBO and pull Crown Royal and Smirnoff vodka off store shelves.
Ford has been on a warpath against the company after it announced the closure of a bottling plant in Amherstburg, currently scheduled for February 2026, affecting 170 employees and potentially impacting the local economy.
In a viral moment of protest, Ford poured out an entire bottle of Crown Royal at a news conference to signal his displeasure with the company’s decision and has repeatedly bashed the company’s move as ill-conceived.
On Monday, during a leaders’ summit in Quebec City, Ford repeated his threat to pull Diageo-made products from store shelves and suggested the manufacturer would be responsible for the outcome.
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“It’s not going to cost jobs and revenue (for the LCBO),” Ford said. “The only people that cost jobs and revenues is Diageo.”
Ford pointed to the $765 million the LCBO spends on Diageo’s products and complained that the company executives behind the decision who decided to target their “largest customer in North America” have “half a brain.”
“The LCBO is the largest purchaser of alcohol in the entire world,” Ford warned. “And I’ll use that leverage to make sure we send a signal.”
Ford promised the government would direct the LCBO to pull Crown Royal and Smirnoff Vodka from store shelves.
“We are pulling Crown Royal off our shelves as soon as the last person leaves that planned,” Ford warned. “And then we’ll look at Smirnoff next.”
It’s unclear why the premier targeted Smirnoff — a Diageo product that is, in part, produced in Valleyfield, Que. — and staff in the premier’s office have not provided further clarity.
The government has also been hazy on whether it intends to target other Diageo products, including Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Tanqueray, Baileys, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan’s and Gordon’s.
Diegeo has said the decision to close its Ontario facility has nothing to do with tariffs from United States President Donald Trump, and said it made similar decisions in the United States, Italy and Scotland.
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