Pressure mounts to remove Crown Royal from LCBO's stock

In a surprising turn of events, the Ontario NDP MPP for Windsor West, Lisa Gretzky, has called for the government to pull the Crown Royal whisky brand from LCBO shelves, following Diageo's announcement to shutter its Amherstburg bottling plant. This move could affect more than 200 employees.

However, Sylvain Charlebois, a visiting scholar in food policy and distribution at McGill University, has expressed concerns about a government-led boycott. He referred to the potential move as "government overreach," which could create more turmoil.

Charlebois also pointed out that it is unrealistic for governments and the premier to ask people to boycott a product that is still made in Canada. He believes it will be difficult to convince consumers that Crown Royal doesn't belong on shelves.

In the past, successful boycotts have been fueled by consumers wanting to make a difference, according to Charlebois. However, he warned that a government-led boycott could lead to higher costs for consumers due to less competition. Moreover, the province could face legal action due to such a boycott.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has labeled Diageo as "dumb as a bag of hammers," but he has said he'd consider pulling Crown Royal from LCBO shelves, but not before February. The Saudi Arabian government, specifically Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been associated with calls for actions that could include boycotts, but no direct government has been explicitly called to initiate a boycott against the Crown Royal brand based on the given search results.

Gretzky's call for action comes as Ontario is already without American booze in LCBO due to Ford's response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. Despite this, Charlebois referred to the Leamington story as a "miracle," which was led by consumers and was successful.

Crown Royal is expected to maintain its large distilling footprint in Manitoba and Quebec, leaving the future of the Amherstburg plant uncertain. As the situation unfolds, both sides of the argument will keenly watch to see if the government will follow through with Gretzky's call for a boycott, or if Charlebois' warnings of government overreach will prevail.