Ford cancels plan to remove Crown Royal from LCBO shelves after $23M deal
Written by The Canadian Press on February 13, 2026
TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford says Crown Royal will remain on liquor store shelves in the province after its parent company agreed to $23 million in spending in Ontario.
Ford has been threatening for months to pull the product after Diageo announced it is closing a Windsor-area Crown Royal bottling plant.
In recent weeks, the premier has softened his tone, saying he offered what he called an olive branch to the company, urging them to support Ontario jobs in other ways since the Amherstburg closure will affect 200 jobs.
Ford announced today that Diageo has agreed to new spending in the province including $11 million to buy grain neutral spirits from eastern Ontario, $5 million in Ontario-based marketing and promotion, and $3 million in ready-to-drink beverages through a Toronto-based co-packer.
Diageo says in a statement that it is pleased Crown Royal will remain on Liquor Control Board of Ontario shelves and that the company remains committed to the province through its new investments.
Diageo also has bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec and government officials from those provinces expressed concern about what a boycott of Crown Royal in Ontario would do to those jobs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2026.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press