Crown Royal leaves Ontario, pouring U.S. profits over Canadian jobs. Does this signal a manufacturing shift in the province?

Crown Royal, a Canadian whisky brand since 1939 that is instantly recognizable by its signature purple bag, is leaving Ontario. Diageo, the British company behind Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff, is closing its Amherstburg bottling plant and shifting production to the United States, raising concerns about the future of Canadian jobs and homegrown brands.

Amherstburg faces a bitter loss as jobs disappear

Diageo said the Amherstburg plant will cease operations by February 2026 as part of a strategic decision to reshape its North American supply chain (1). The closure will affect about 160 to 200 jobs at the plant that bottles Crown Royal products destined largely for the U.S. market.

Unifor Local 200, which represents the workers, reported that plant employees overwhelmingly ratified a negotiated closure agreement, with 89% voting in favour, giving enhanced severance protections ahead of the shutdown (2). The union has said it will now work with local and provincial officials to attract new investment and preserve workers’ livelihoods (3).

For Amherstburg — where the bottling plant has been among the largest employers — this loss carries real economic weight. Local officials have warned the closure will reduce the town’s tax base and create ripple effects for ancillary services and spending (4).

Some workers have retired, while others have found jobs at nearby facilities, including the Stellantis auto assembly plant in Windsor, or in trades-related positions (5). John D’Agnolo, president of Unifor Local 200, said the province has supported workers by connecting them with colleges and funding local action centres to train or reskill employees for other sectors. “We’re down to about 101 employees,” he told Global News. “Hopefully, we’ll get to the point where everybody’s employed.”

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From bottles to the big picture: Ontario’s manufacturing shift

While the direct job losses at Crown Royal are concentrated, they occur against a backdrop of broader trends in Ontario’s manufacturing sector:

Food, beverage and tobacco product manufacturing — the subsector that includes facilities like Crown Royal’s — employed 116,700 people in Ontario in 2023, representing 1.5% of the province’s total workforce and 14.4% of Ontario’s manufacturing jobs (6).

That subsector generated $14.8 billion in GDP in 2023, accounting for 15.3 % of total manufacturing GDP in the province (7).

These figures show how food and beverage manufacturing remains a meaningful piece of Ontario’s economy, even as employment has fluctuated. Provincial forecasts suggest moderate employment growth through 2024 to 2026 (8), reflecting broader economic pressures, capital investment trends and shifts in consumer demand.

Nationally, Canada’s food and beverage processing industry, which includes beverage production, was the largest manufacturing employer in 2024 with 318,400 jobs and goods valued at $173.4 billion, or 20.3% of total Canadian manufacturing sales (9).

Crown Royal closure sparks political showdown

The closure unfolded amid public political tension. The Ontario government criticized Diageo and threatened to retaliate by removing Crown Royal from LCBO shelves, a move Premier Doug Ford said he would “100 per cent” follow through on at the end of February (10).

Diageo ultimately kept its Manitoba and Quebec facilities while shifting Ontario's bottling work to the United States. The union emphasized acting while workers were still at the plant. D’Agnolo noted that although the agreement was signed under a deadline, earlier action would have been more impactful.

While the provincial government has stepped up to support workers through the transition, the union continues to advocate for removing Diageo products from the LCBO as part of its broader response.

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A Canadian icon with a global footprint

Crown Royal remains one of Diageo’s most important Canadian brands. According to Brand Finance (11), the whisky had an estimated brand value of about C$3.2 billion, making it one of Canada’s fastest‑growing brands, despite being owned by a foreign company.

Industry reporting also notes that Crown Royal is the top‑selling Canadian whisky worldwide and North America’s most valuable whisky brand — in fact, Canadian whisky makes up roughly 7% of Diageo’s global net sales (12).

Despite this, Diageo has cited operational efficiency and supply‑chain resiliency as drivers of the Amherstburg decision (13). The company says whisky destined for Canadian consumption and non‑U.S. export markets will continue to be bottled in its Valleyfield, Que., and Gimli, Man., facilities.

A Canadian icon leaves home

The closure marks a sad day for this iconic brand. For both the workers and town of Amherstburg, a major employer vanishing leaves gaps in the local economy, from family incomes to small businesses that depended on the plant’s activity.

Crown Royal’s move also raises bigger questions about Canada’s place in a global economy where foreign corporations make decisions that can ripple through local communities. It shines a light on the fragile balance between efficiency, profit and national pride, especially when a brand so tied to Canadian identity is shifted abroad.

At the same time, the response of unions, local leaders and provincial programs highlights the resiliency and adaptability of Canadians. Workers are finding new paths, retraining and rediscovering opportunities even in the shadow of a major closure.

Crown Royal may continue to pour whisky across borders, but for Amherstburg and the thousands of Canadians whose lives are intertwined with the brand, the closure marks another blow to our economy in a time when Elbows Up may struggle to sustain brands we once proudly called our own.

Article sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

Global News (1, 5, 10); City News (2); Unifor (3); AM800CKLW (4); Government of Canada: Job Bank (6, 7, 8); Government of Canada: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (9); Brand Finance (11); Diageo (12); AInvest (13)