Ontario premier Doug Ford says he’ll pull Crown Royal from shelves…Iconic Canadian Whisky Mulls Move to US

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is prepared to remove one of Canada’s top-selling whiskies from provincial liquor stores amid a dispute over production plans. Ford announced this week that he is “100%” ready to pull Crown Royal from shelves operated by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, urging consumers to “stock up” as tensions with the brand’s owner, Diageo, intensify.

The conflict dates back to September, when Diageo revealed plans to close its Ontario bottling facility and move those operations to the United States, a decision expected to eliminate about 200 jobs. In response at the time, Ford publicly poured out a bottle of Crown Royal and sharply criticized company executives.

Diageo, which acquired Crown Royal in 2001 following Seagram’s collapse, has said the whisky will remain Canadian at its core. The company maintains that the product will continue to be mashed, distilled, and aged in Canada, as it has been since 1939, and that all bottles sold outside the U.S. will still be bottled domestically.

Ford has rejected those assurances, calling them misleading and arguing that Diageo ultimately intends to move full production to Alabama. He pointed to the company’s decision to abandon a previously promised $175 million carbon-neutral distillery in Ontario, which was expected to create 100 jobs.

“Mark my words, it’s going to Alabama,” Ford said, adding that Crown Royal would be removed from LCBO shelves once the Ontario bottling plant shuts down next month. While earlier threats to pull other Diageo products—such as Guinness and Smirnoff—have not yet been acted on, Ford said those options remain on the table.

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