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Manitoba premier urges Doug Ford not to remove Crown Royal from Ontario shelves
Summary
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew urged Ontario Premier Doug Ford not to remove Crown Royal from LCBO shelves, saying such a move would harm Canadian workers; Ford has said he will delist the whisky once Diageo closes an Amherstburg bottling plant and shifts volumes.
Content
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew visited the Crown Royal distillery in Gimli and asked Ontario Premier Doug Ford to reconsider plans to remove the whisky from Ontario liquor shelves. Kinew framed the request as part of a "Team Canada" approach amid trade tensions with the United States. Ford has said he will pull Crown Royal from LCBO listings when Diageo closes a bottling plant in Amherstburg and moves those volumes. Diageo says it will shift Amherstburg bottling to Valleyfield, Que., and maintain a significant presence in Canada.
What we know:
- Wab Kinew publicly urged Doug Ford not to remove Crown Royal from Ontario shelves and said such actions target jobs in other provinces.
- Doug Ford has stated he will delist Crown Royal from the LCBO once Diageo closes the Amherstburg, Ont., bottling plant and shifts volumes.
- Diageo announced it will move Amherstburg bottling to Valleyfield, Que., and said it will keep a significant presence in Canada.
- Manitoba officials say they have received assurances that Diageo will continue operations in Gimli.
- Barry Sawyer, national president of United Food and Commercial Workers, said delisting would punish Canadian workers; the Gimli and Valleyfield plants employ about 400 people combined.
- Wab Kinew invited Doug Ford to meet to try to settle the dispute, and said Manitoba will not engage in tit-for-tat removals of Ontario products.
Summary:
The dispute highlights concerns about the impact of provincial trade actions on Canadian workers and interprovincial relations. Ford has linked any LCBO delisting to Diageo's planned Amherstburg closure and volume shifts, while Kinew has sought assurances about Gimli jobs and invited Ford to meet to resolve the issue.
