Ontario Premier Doug Ford is telling the head of Diageo, 'You hurt my people; I'm going to hurt you.'
Ford made the comment Tuesday during a news conference in Kitchener as he took aim at the spirits giant for its plan to close its Crown Royal bottling plant in Amherstburg in February 2026.
He says they're hurting Ontario residents and the people who work in Amherstburg.
"The message to the CEO in France, 'You hurt my people, I'm going to hurt you!' You're going to feel the pain in February when these people don't have a paycheck," he says. "I'm going to stand up for the people of Ontario, and I encourage all Canadians and all Ontarians to stand up for the people. You don't know if you're next."
The premier even dumped out a bottle of Crown Royal whisky as he blasted the company's decision, noting Diageo made $740 million in Ontario while spending around $17 million on payroll in the town.
Ford says the LCBO is the company's largest customer in North America, more than California or Texas.
"What I don't get is when you're someone's largest customer in North America, you're going after the largest customer," he says. "I always say that smart people aren't too smart, and you guys are about as dumb as a bag of hammers for doing this."
If companies want the support of Ontario customers, they’d better start by respecting Ontario workers. pic.twitter.com/cKYD3Ktk74
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) September 2, 2025
But the premier did not say whether Crown Royal or any other Diageo products would be removed from the shelves of the LCBO.
In making the announcement on August 28, the company said it would "unlock additional productivity and increased resiliency and capacity to scale, effectively meeting demand across its markets and shifting some bottling volume to be closer to its many U.S. Crown Royal consumers.
Crown Royal products will continue to be mashed, distilled, and aged at its Canadian facilities, and whisky destined for Canada and non-U.S. export markets will continue to be bottled in Canada, at Diageo's Valleyfield, Quebec, facility.
Ford says he asked the company if there were any incentives Ontario could provide to save the jobs, but Diageo officials said no.