Spirits maker Diageo to close Amherstburg, Ont., bottling facility next year

Advertisement

Advertise with us

LONDON - Spirits maker Diageo will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., early next year, as it shifts some bottling volume to the U.S., the company announced on Thursday.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/08/2025 (405 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LONDON – Spirits maker Diageo will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., early next year, as it shifts some bottling volume to the U.S., the company announced on Thursday.

The facility, which bottles Crown Royal products, will close in February in a move aimed at improving its North American supply chain.

About 200 jobs will be affected. 

A bottle of Crown Royal Canadian whisky is seen in Burlington, Ont., on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Vokey
A bottle of Crown Royal Canadian whisky is seen in Burlington, Ont., on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Vokey

“This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s president of North America supply, said in a statement. 

Diageo said it will engage with the community and find ways to support its employees through the transition, and work alongside Unifor to assist unionized workers.

The company said it will still maintain a “significant” footprint in Canada — including its headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area, and bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec.

McIntosh added the company’s Crown Royal products will continue to be mashed, distilled and aged at its Canadian facilities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2025.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Letters, Oct. 7

6 minute read Preview

Letters, Oct. 7

6 minute read Updated: 8:08 AM CDT

Wally Daudrich apparently claims that Duff Roblin joined the PC Party in the 1960s. He does not know the history of the party.

Read
Updated: 8:08 AM CDT

Estate of woman who died from local anesthetic injected into blood vessel sues Morden dentist, his business, clinic

Erik Pindera 4 minute read Preview

Estate of woman who died from local anesthetic injected into blood vessel sues Morden dentist, his business, clinic

Erik Pindera 4 minute read Monday, Oct. 5, 2026

The estate of a 23-year-old woman who died after receiving a local anesthetic during a wisdom tooth extraction at a Morden dental clinic has filed a lawsuit over her death.

Virginia Blatz never returned home after she went to Boundary Trails Dental Centre to have her wisdom teeth removed on Nov. 27, 2024. An autopsy later confirmed she died from local anesthetic systemic toxicity caused by an inadvertent injection into a blood vessel, her family has previously said.

Her father, Dulaney Blatz, filed a lawsuit in the Court of King’s Bench on behalf of her estate late last month, naming Ronald David Janz — the dentist who performed the procedure — his dental corporation and the dental corporation that operates the clinic as defendants.

None of the defendants have filed statements of defence in response to the claim, which has not yet been heard in court.

Read
Monday, Oct. 5, 2026

Amazon in the weeds over damage to tall grass reserve

Eva Wasney 7 minute read Preview

Amazon in the weeds over damage to tall grass reserve

Eva Wasney 7 minute read Yesterday at 6:00 AM CDT

Patricia Dutchak was devastated when she first saw the wide swaths of crushed grass and upturned soil at Winnipeg’s Rotary Prairie Nature Park, a municipal heritage site.

“This is a very rare ecosystem, a remnant of tall grass prairie, there’s barely any left in the world, and to come here and see all this damage was heartbreaking,” Dutchak, chair of the Transcona Rotary Club’s parks committee, says.

The club is responsible for maintaining the protected green space, which was significantly damaged this summer when a fence between the park and the neighbouring Amazon distribution centre was relocated.

The 20-acre nature preserve is situated on a narrow tract of land on Regent Avenue West in the commercial heart of Transcona. The park received its municipal heritage designation in 1992 and is, today, surrounded by high-traffic streets, industrial warehouses and car dealerships.

Read
Yesterday at 6:00 AM CDT

This week’s silly geopolitical spat

Gwynne Dyer 4 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

“I would not like to call this an incident. Let’s say it’s a diplomatic misunderstanding,” said Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha. But the South Korean president definitely sees it as a serious incident, and he has already gone public with it.

“If (Ukraine’s) refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology continues, we will take additional measures,” President Lee Jae-myung wrote on X. He probably means cutting the non-military aid South Korea gives to Ukraine. (There is no military aid, since the constitution bans Seoul from providing arms to a country actively involved in a war).

What monstrous misdeed did the Ukrainian government commit to deserve such harsh words from a country that is generally sympathetic to Ukraine’s struggle against its giant neighbour? Have the South Koreans discovered Ukrainian spies in the Blue House?

No, it’s what we professionals call a “spat.”

Uber bans city driver facing sexual assault charge

Matthew Frank 2 minute read 12:43 PM CDT

A Winnipeg Uber driver has been permanently banned from the platform after police charged the man for allegedly sexually assaulting a passenger last month.

A woman reported that she used the ride service on Sept. 27 and the 27-year-old driver sexually assaulted her once the vehicle reached its destination in the Weston neighbourhood, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release.

Police said the woman was able to escape and get to safe place. The driver was arrested on Sept. 28 at an apartment complex on Kennedy Street. He was later released with conditions.

An Uber spokesperson said the driver is permanently banned, and the company is assisting police with the investigation.

Sidney Crosby sings praises of Jets' Bjorck, summer training partner Barron

Ken Wiebe 6 minute read Preview

Sidney Crosby sings praises of Jets' Bjorck, summer training partner Barron

Ken Wiebe 6 minute read Monday, Oct. 5, 2026

PITTSBURGH — It wasn’t that long ago when the shoe was on the other foot for Sidney Crosby.

Read
Monday, Oct. 5, 2026