Diageo ‘indefinitely delays’ St. Clair Township plant

Cathy Dobson/The Independent

The much-anticipated construction of a $245-million Crown Royal distillery in St. Clair Township is on hold with no date for when the project might go ahead.

St. Clair’s Mayor Jeff Agar said the economic blow came as a surprise and is “very disappointing.”

Work on the distillery’s site plan had been progressing well with whisky-maker Diageo Canada, which purchased land near the intersection of Highway 40 and Moore Line, he said.

But company officials told Agar during an online Zoom meeting last week that the entire project is paused.

“They didn’t give an explanation,” said Agar. “But they are not selling the property and, who knows – it’s hard to say what they are thinking – hopefully they will still come.”

After being contacted by The Independent, Diageo issued a written statement addressing what appears to be a sudden change in plans.

“Given the dynamic nature of our broader business and our emphasis on productivity, we have decided to pause the development of our facility in Lambton County’s St. Clair Township,” the statement said. 

 “We will be revisiting plans and timeline at a later date, as part of our regular review of investments and priorities across our supply chain footprint.”

Agar said he is confident Diageo’s decision had nothing to do with the company’s relationship with St. Clair. “Our township and staff put a lot of work into it,” said Agar.  “It’s nothing we did.

“We don’t have a lot of details,” added township CAO John Rodey.  “Apparently they’ve looked globally and don’t think it’s the time to start construction.

“The funny thing is that in the last month, they’ve provided all the information we needed for the site plan,” Rodey said.  Diageo had also hired a contractor for the project, he said.

Local officials and Diageo brass excitedly announced plans in March 2022 to build a new distillery in St. Clair for the Crown Royal Canadian Whisky brand. 

The new facility would create 50-75 full-time permanent jobs, they said, and have capacity to produce up to 20 million litres of absolute alcohol annually.

Construction was expected to start in late 2022 and provide work for about 400 tradespeople, the company said.

Initial reports were that the distillery would start production in 2025.

But last spring, officials said the project was delayed and a new site plan was necessary.  The company said construction of a large warehouse for barrel storage would go ahead this year. 

But even that is now paused.

“It is what it is. But it’s not all doom and gloom,” said the mayor.  “Hopefully they still come.

“Meanwhile, we move on and look at other options for our community.”