An iconic Canadian brand could be yanked from some shelves in its home nation's liquor stores, if the head of Ontario's government has his way.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened to ban the sale of Crown Royal from LCBO, the government-owned liquor stores, in protest of beverage owner Diageo's plan to shift product bottling out of Canada to the United States, according to media reports.
Ford's threat comes after London-based Diageo said it will cease operations by February at its plant at 110 St. Arnaud St. in Amherstburg, Ontario, where Crown Royal is bottled. As part of the cost-cutting move, the bottling operations are expected to be transferred to an unidentified U.S. property.
Ford and Unifor, a union that represents Diageo workers, have slammed the liquor company for the proposal.
"A message to all the bigwigs at Diageo ... those bottles of Crown Royal are coming off the LCBO shelves," Ford said this week at a public gathering in Brampton, Ontario, according to the CBC.
Ford's office did not respond to CoStar News' request for comment.
Unifor, which describes itself as the largest union in Canada's private sector, insisted that Ford ban Crown Royal from shelves immediately.
"The decision to shutter Amherstburg and kill more than 200 Canadian jobs was made in a boardroom in England by people who do not understand the history of the brand," John D'Agnolo, president of Unifor Local 200, said in a Sept. 5 statement.
Ford has the authority to remove a specific product from liquor stores because the province of Ontario controls liquor sales through the government-owned Liquor Control Board of Ontario, also known as LCBO. The retailer, which has about 680 locations in Ontario, did not respond to a request for comment.
The dispute comes amid the U.S. government's trade war with Canada and other countries. U.S. President Donald Trump has approved new tariffs on a wide range of Canadian products. Prime Minister Mark Carney held recent talks with Trump over tariffs, according to Reuters.
Diageo has said it will continue to distill Crown Royal whisky in Canada at plants in Gimli, Manitoba, and Valleyfield, Quebec, and bottle Crown Royal in Valleyfield for sales in Canadian and non-U.S. markets. It also said it will continue to operate Crown Royal distribution centers and warehouses in the Toronto area.
Diageo announced plans in 2022 to develop a distillery in Sarnia, Ontario. But the project, totaling $245 million Canadian dollars, appears to have been shelved, the Windsor Star reported in August.
Regarding the Amherstburg bottling facility, "This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network," Marsha McIntosh, president of North America supply at Diageo, said in a statement.
Diageo did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. is the largest market for Crown Royal, according to Diageo's latest annual report. The company didn't break out sales for the U.S., but Diageo said it sold about US$1.46 billion of Crown Royal worldwide in its most recent fiscal year.