Doug Ford Dumps Crown Royal In Protest Of Ontario Plant Closure
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- Premier Doug Ford dumped a Crown Royal bottle at a presser to protest Diageo’s plan to close its Amherstburg, Ontario bottling plant.
- Ford called the decision “dumb as a bag of hammers” and vowed to “hurt” Diageo by cutting provincial liquor purchases.
- Diageo plans to wind down the Ontario site by February 2026; about 180 jobs are at stake, with bottling shifted in Canada.
- Video of the stunt circulated widely via Canadian outlets and social clips.
At a news conference, Ontario Premier Doug Ford unscrewed a bottle of Crown Royal and poured it out, denouncing Diageo’s plan to shutter the brand’s Amherstburg bottling plant. He called the move “dumb as a bag of hammers,” framing it as a hit to local workers and promising consequences.
Diageo announced last week it will close the Ontario facility by February 2026, part of a North American supply-chain reshuffle that moves bottling within Canada and puts roughly 180 jobs in jeopardy. The company has said it will support affected employees during the transition.
Ford said he’ll reduce LCBO purchases of Diageo products—worth about C$740 million annually—and urged consumers to choose domestically made whiskies. Clips of the bottle-dumping moment spread quickly across national broadcasts and local feeds.
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