A British-owned, Canadian-made whisky is at the centre of a spat between two provinces that is testing a unified Team Canada approach in the face of U.S. tariffs. It started after the whisky maker, Diageo, said it will shut down a bottling plant in Ontario to move it closer to U.S. consumers. Soon after, Ontario Premier Doug Ford angrily poured out a bottle of Crown Royal in front of reporters and now says the product will be removed from provincial liquor stores. This has alarmed neighbouring Manitoba, where a Crown Royal distillery is a key employer in the small town of Gimli.
In a symbolic visit to the Gimli distillery on Tuesday, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew urged Ford to do a 180. We understand, Doug, that you get fired up and say things in public, Kinew said. But we also understand that you do the right thing when you have a chance to reconsider. The row over Crown Royal – a Canadian whisky brand introduced during the 1939 royal tour of Canada by King George VI – dates back to August. That's when Diageo first announced it would close its Amherstburg, Ontario, bottling facility after five decades of operations. The UK-based company said last summer it planned to close the plant in February as part of a broader restructuring to improve its North American supply chain, and – to Ford's dismay – move bottling operations closer to the U.S.
Ford has made strong statements about his feelings toward Crown Royal, including pouring an entire bottle on the ground and describing Diageo owners as dumb as a bag of hammers. He vowed to hurt the firm and urged Canadians to boycott the product. Since then, Manitoba has been hoping for Ford to reconsider his stance.
The Crown Royal distillery is crucial for the economy of Gimli, home to about 2,300 people. Kinew warned Ford that he could inadvertently hurt Canadians with the boycott, emphasizing that a Team Canada approach can't mean targeting jobs in another province. As negotiations continue, Ford has been invited by Kinew to visit Manitoba to talk things over during a hockey game. While Ford praised Kinew as a fine gentleman, he remains firm: No, I'm not reconsidering.\
In a symbolic visit to the Gimli distillery on Tuesday, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew urged Ford to do a 180. We understand, Doug, that you get fired up and say things in public, Kinew said. But we also understand that you do the right thing when you have a chance to reconsider. The row over Crown Royal – a Canadian whisky brand introduced during the 1939 royal tour of Canada by King George VI – dates back to August. That's when Diageo first announced it would close its Amherstburg, Ontario, bottling facility after five decades of operations. The UK-based company said last summer it planned to close the plant in February as part of a broader restructuring to improve its North American supply chain, and – to Ford's dismay – move bottling operations closer to the U.S.
Ford has made strong statements about his feelings toward Crown Royal, including pouring an entire bottle on the ground and describing Diageo owners as dumb as a bag of hammers. He vowed to hurt the firm and urged Canadians to boycott the product. Since then, Manitoba has been hoping for Ford to reconsider his stance.
The Crown Royal distillery is crucial for the economy of Gimli, home to about 2,300 people. Kinew warned Ford that he could inadvertently hurt Canadians with the boycott, emphasizing that a Team Canada approach can't mean targeting jobs in another province. As negotiations continue, Ford has been invited by Kinew to visit Manitoba to talk things over during a hockey game. While Ford praised Kinew as a fine gentleman, he remains firm: No, I'm not reconsidering.\
