The looming closure of an Ontario plant that bottles Crown Royal sparked political blowback this week, but a supply chain expert says the company behind the move faced pressing decisions on how to cut costs amid ongoing financial challenges.

Spirits maker Diageo found itself in Doug Ford's crosshairs on Tuesday when the Ontario premier capped an unrelated press conference by producing a Crown Royal bottle and proceeding to slowly dump it out on the ground.

Ford was protesting Diageo's announcement last week that it will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., in February 2026, as it shifts some bottling volume to the U.S.

Ford said the company is "about as dumb as a bag of hammers for doing this," as he encouraged others to dump out their Crown Royal whisky and i

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