Premier Doug Ford empties a bottle of Crown Royal whisky at a press conference in Kitchener, Ont., on Tuesday.

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 DEO-N 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 compan

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