A federal Conservative member of Parliament from Manitoba says Ontario Premier Doug Ford didn’t have “all the facts in front of him” when he doubled down on threats to pull Crown Royal off shelves.
MP James Bezan, who represents the Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman riding north of Winnipeg, where the whisky is distilled, said Thursday he spoke with Ford on the matter after the premier once again said he would remove Crown Royal from Liquor Control Board of Ontario listings.
“I had to present some of those facts that Crown Royal is proudly made-in-Manitoba whisky. It’s Canada’s number 1 export spirit,” Bezan said.
“I just think the premier is misinformed, and hopefully that he’s going to change his mind if he has all the proper information in front of him.”
Crown Royal is distilled in Diageo’s plant in Gimli, Man., but U.K.-based Diageo — which owns the Crown Royal brand — announced last year it was closing down the factory that bottles the whisky in Amherstburg, Ont., prompting Ford’s threat to take the liquor off Ontario’s shelves.
That Ontario plant was listed for sale in late December.
A majority of the roughly 160 workers there ratified a closure agreement with the plant in November.
On Monday, Ford said he will make good on his promise to pull Crown Royal off LCBO shelves as soon as Diageo closes the plant in February, saying the company will eventually shift those jobs to the U.S.
The company has previously said it will continue to maintain a significant footprint in Canada after the Ontario plant’s closure. It said Thursday that whisky destined for Canadian and non-U.S. markets will continue to be bottled in its plant in Valley Field, Que.
Bottling volume from its Amherstburg plant will shift there, it said.
“My good friend [Manitoba Premier] Wab Kinew — I love the guy, by the way — you know, they’re doing a little production there. In Quebec too,” said Ford.
“But it’s all a bunch of B.S. It’s all going to Alabama. Mark my words.”
Bezan said if Ford follows through, he “shouldn’t be surprised” if Manitoba retaliates, saying the logical target would be Ontario wine.
A Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries spokesperson said Thursday VQA Ontario wine sales in Manitoba have ranged between $2.6 million and $3.2 million annually over the past three years.
Manitoba Economic Development Minister Jamie Moses said in a statement that buying Crown Royal supports jobs in the province, and that now is the time to support Canadian workers and products.
The Rural Municipality of Gimli said in a statement the company’s commitment to its operations in the country “remains strong,” and that the distillery — which opened in 1968 — continues to support the local economy and jobs.
Derek Johnson, the member of the legislative assembly for Manitoba’s Interlake-Gimli riding, said Crown Royal provides a “livelihood” for the rural community.
“I don’t think Canadians should be turning against one another,” the Opposition Progressive Conservative MLA said.
That’s especially true “in these uncertain times that we’ve been having with our friends and neighbours to the south — more so neighbours than friends lately,” he said.
“But we don’t want to have that same issue start between provinces.”
Barry Prentice, a professor with the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business, said Ford’s justification for the move “doesn’t make a whole lot of sense” in the context of the trade war with the U.S.
Crown Royal is a Canadian product and will remain so, even if bottling does move south of the border, Prentice said.
“Who’s he actually hurting by doing all this?” he asked.
“I think [Ford is] on the wrong side of this one, and I think he will reverse himself. I don’t think he wants an interprovincial trade battle, which essentially this is.”
