Crown Royal will remain on Ontario liquor store shelves, after its parent company agreed to $23 million in spending in the province and Premier Doug Ford cancelled his plans for a boycott.
Ford had been threatening for months to pull the product from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario after Diageo announced it is closing a Windsor-area Crown Royal bottling plant.
The premier memorably kicked off his campaign against Diageo by slowly pouring out a bottle of Crown Royal onto the ground at a press conference.
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In recent weeks, though, the premier had softened his tone, saying he offered what he called an olive branch to the company. He urged them to support Ontario jobs in other ways since the Amherstburg closure will affect 200 jobs.
Ford announced Friday 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.
"By standing firm in our plan to protect Ontario workers, we've secured nearly $23 million in investments that Ontario would not otherwise have seen," Ford wrote in a statement.
"These investments will help keep Ontario workers on the job, strengthen provincial supply chains and support the local community in Amherstburg and the surrounding area."
Diageo said in a statement it is glad there is a resolution.
"Diageo is pleased that Crown Royal, an iconic Canadian whisky, will remain on the shelves of the LCBO, and we remain committed to Ontario through our significant investment in the province," the company wrote.
Diageo also has bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec, and government officials from those provinces had expressed concern about what a boycott of Crown Royal in Ontario would do to those jobs.
The agreed-upon spending by Diageo also includes $2 million for new packaging for pre-mixed beverages from a co-manufacturer in east Toronto, $1 million for organizations that support the growth of Ontario's agricultural sector and $500,000 for economic development in the Amherstburg area.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2026.
