Premier Doug Ford is escalating his fight with spirits giant Diageo , vowing to pull Crown Royal and other popular brands from LCBO shelves if the company follows through on plans to shutter a bottling facility in southwestern Ontario.
Speaking in Quebec on Monday, Ford said the province will remove Crown Royal from stores “as soon as the last person leaves that plant,” referring to Diageo’s Amherstburg bottling facility .
The closure, announced earlier this year, is expected to result in the elimination of approximately 200 jobs as the company relocates some operations to the United States.
“Then we’ll look at Smirnoff. Smirnoff’s next. That’s what happens when you try to undermine the people of Ontario,” the premier said.
Diageo, one of the world’s largest alcohol producers