Ontario premier vows to 'hurt' Diageo sales over plant closure plan

OTTAWA (Reuters) -The premier of Ontario on Tuesday said he would "hurt" Diageo after the world's largest spirits maker announced plans to close a facility in Canada's most populous province, which buys the company's products to sell in its liquor stores.

Diageo said last week that it would shut its Crown Royal whisky bottling plant in Ontario by February 2026, as part of efforts to improve its North American supply chain.

"You guys are about as dumb as a bag of hammers for doing this," said Premier Doug Ford, noting that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario bought C$740 million($540 million) worth of Diageo products a year. He said 180 jobs would be lost in the plant closure.

"A message to the CEO ... you hurt my people, I'm going to hurt you. You're going to feel the pain in February," Ford told a press conference and proceeded to pour a large bottle of Crown Royal onto the ground.

"I think everyone else should do the same thing. Start supporting companies that make whisky here," he said.

Ford, a famously combative politician, led his Progressive Conservatives to victory in 2018 and easily won reelection in 2022. In March, the LCBO banned sales of U.S. alcohol products in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs.

($1 = 1.3817 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)