Federal Conservative MPs are slamming Ontario Premier Doug Ford for doubling down on his pledge to remove Crown Royal products from provincial liquor stores.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Ford said his government was doing “everything we can to protect jobs” in Ontario by removing the popular whisky from the shelves at the LCBO, and encouraged Ontarians to purchase rival brands produced and bottled in Canada.

Crown Royal whisky is mashed, distilled and aged in Gimli, Manitoba, but its parent company, Diageo, announced earlier this year it was shuttering one of its bottling facilities in Amherstburg, a town located south of Windsor.

Closing the bottling plant will lead to about 200 job losses.

Soon after the announcement, Ford said his government would pull Crown Royal from provincial liquor stores, and even poured out a bottle of the whisky at a September press conference.

Ford said on Thursday that he was taking this step to discourage the company from sending jobs to the U.S.

“Make no mistake about it. You think [the jobs are] going to Winnipeg. You think it’s going to Quebec? It’s going down to Alabama to be produced, and I will fight all day long to protect the jobs for Ontarians.”

Ford’s comments on Thursday were criticized by members of the federal Conservative party, who noted the whisky was still produced in Canada.

Toronto Conservative MP Roman Baber said that Ford was sending the wrong message to companies about investing in Ontario.

“Every drop of Crown Royal sold in Canada is made in Gimli, Manitoba,” he said in a post on X.

“But think of the harm that Doug’s message is doing to Ontario as a potential place to invest or start a business.”

Baber previously served under Ford’s leadership as a PC MPP, and was even tasked by the premier in 2019 with reviewing the province’s autism program.

He was removed from the PC caucus in 2021 over his opposition to the province’s COVID lockdown and restrictions.

Manitoba Conservative MP James Bezan, whose riding includes Gimli, also took to social media to criticize Ford’s comments.

“This is a terrible decision by Doug Ford and will only hurt Canada,” he wrote on X, quoting Baber’s post.

“Does Ford want to start a trade war with other provinces or will he finally put Canada first? I’m sure he doesn’t want to see Ontario wine taken off the shelves in Manitoba.”

Diageo said all Crown Royal products for sale in Canada will be bottled in the country and bottling volume from Amherstburg is moving to Quebec.

The company’s Canadian headquarters and warehouse operations are located in the Greater Toronto Area.

Bezan and of the office of Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew didn’t respond to requests for comment prior to deadline.

Baber’s office said the MP was unavailable for an interview on Thursday.

with files from the Canadian Press