Ontario Premier Doug Ford has renewed threats to ban Diageo-owned Crown Royal from the province’s liquor stores. The move is a response to the spirits giant’s plan to close its Ontario bottling plant and shift operations to the United States.
As reported by The Guardian, Ford advised consumers to “stock up there, buddy,” and confirmed he was “100%” committed to removing the Canadian whisky from shelves.
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Ford intends to wield the power of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), one of the world’s largest single purchasers of beverage alcohol, to enact the ban.
The political dispute began in September after Diageo announced it would shutter its plant in the province, which will result in the loss of approximately 200 jobs.
At the time, Ford ceremoniously dumped a bottle of Crown Royal in protest.
He described the company’s owners as “a few fries short of a Happy Meal” and “dumb as a bag of hammers,” as reported by The Guardian.
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Crown Royal was first introduced in 1939 to mark a visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
It is made with Canadian grains and water from Manitoba’s Lake Winnipeg. Following its acquisition by Diageo in 2001, it has become the top-selling Canadian whisky in the US.
Diageo said that Crown Royal “will be mashed, distilled and aged in Canada, just as it has been since 1939.”
The company also stated that products sold in Canada and destined for the rest of the world will continue to be bottled in Canada.
Ford dismissed these assurances.
As reported by The Guardian, Ford said: “It’s all a bunch of BS. It’s all going to Alabama. Mark my words, it’s going to Alabama.”
The premier’s comments also reference Diageo’s decision to pause a planned C$245 million carbon-neutral Crown Royal distillery that was set to be built in Ontario.
Ford warned that the action may not be limited to just Crown Royal.
He said other Diageo brands, such as Guinness and Smirnoff, could be targeted next.
“The message to everyone else; don’t try to hurt Ontario, especially if we’re your No 1 customer – you’ll be held accountable.”
