Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to the media during a press conference at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Oct. 27, 2025. The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette
Chandra Philip
Premier Doug Ford says he is offering an “olive branch” to Crown Royal distiller Diageo, after previously saying he would pull the company’s whisky from Ontario liquor store shelves.
The premier told reporters during an unrelated news conference this week that he is willing to reconsider the threat, but only if the province is able to obtain concessions from the British multinational alcoholic beverage company, which produces Canadian whisky.
Ford said he told Diageo to “show me a plan that’s going to replace those jobs, and then we’re good.”
“If Diageo comes and says, ‘We’ll replace these 200 workers by manufacturing bottles, doing their cartons, doing other things, more advertising, so on, so forth, and they can show me on paper. Then I‘ll sit down, and I’ll be open,” Ford said on Jan. 21.
The Epoch Times attempted to reach Diageo for comment on whether it will present a plan to Ford, but did not hear back by publication time.
Ford’s comments come after Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew recently asked Ford to reconsider his stance, saying his decision could affect workers at a plant north of Winnipeg where the whisky is mashed, distilled, and aged.
Manitoba MP James Bezan and Ontario MP Dean Allison have also said Ontario should support Crown Royal because it is made in Canada, and employs Canadians.
Ford had criticized Diageo after the company announced closure plans for its bottling plant in Amherstburg, Ont., facility. The company said it was moving bottling for American consumers to the United States while whisky for Canadian customers would be bottled at its existing plant in Valleyfield, Que. The company owns several brands including Crown Royal, Smirnoff, Baileys, and Captain Morgan.
Ford responded by saying he would pull the company’s Crown Royal whiskey from Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) shelves unless the company re-evaluated its decision to close the Ontario plant.
The president of Diageo’s North America supply previously said closing the Ontario plant was not an easy decision but was “crucial” for improving efficiency and resilience of the company’s supply chain network.
Diageo also previously said it would continue to invest in Canada through “ongoing production, local operations, and contributions to local communities.”