‘It’s just terrible over there,’ Premier Doug Ford says of Marineland

A beluga whale surfaces from a tank to be fed by an employee at Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ont., Friday, June 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

VAUGHAN — The situation at Marineland, the tourist attraction where 20 whales have died since 2019, is “terrible,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Thursday.

There are 30 belugas left at Marineland, according to a database maintained by The Canadian Press based on government records and officials. They are the last remaining whales in captivity in Canada, which banned the keeping of cetaceans in 2019.

“They have a responsibility to take care of these whales,” Ford said when asked about Marineland at an unrelated press conference. “They need to make sure that they’re healthy.”

He said his heart breaks for the “poor whales” held in captivity.

“It’s just terrible over there.”

There are also four dolphins remaining at the Niagara Falls, Ont., park, along with several seals and sea lions and its contingent of bears and deer.

Marineland recently requested export permits from the federal government to move all of its belugas out of the country, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said.

Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson’s office said the government has yet to make a decision on Marineland’s request.

“This is the only decision that falls under the jurisdiction of the federal minister – to export the mammals or not,” it said in a statement.

Ford said he believes Marineland is running out of money because it costs $1 million to feed the whales every month.

Marineland did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.

The CBC has reported that Chimelong, a massive zoo and aquarium company in China, is interested in the belugas but has not yet decided whether to buy them.

The law that banned whale captivity grandfathered in Marineland. But the park had to comply with another part of the law that forbade breeding. It also banned the importation and exportation of whales, though there are exceptions for scientific research or “if it is in the best interest” of the animal, with discretion left up to the minister.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada said it is also aware of the proposed Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia, but noted it is “not operational.”

That $20-million project has been delayed for years. Documents obtained by The Canadian Press earlier this year through freedom of information laws state the U.S.-based group won’t be granted a Crown lease for 81 hectares of land and water near Wine Harbour, N.S., unless the landowners grant unanimous consent.

Marineland has been up for sale for nearly two years, though it has yet to announce a deal. The park has not been open to the public since September 2024.

Ontario is responsible for enforcing animal welfare laws and has conducted a sprawling, ongoing investigation into Marineland since 2020. Inspectors have visited the park more than 200 times and issued 33 orders for compliance.

The province still has four long-term outstanding orders against Marineland. Those are focused on the water quality, the maintenance and repair of the water system, proper record keeping for whales and dolphins and the condition of enclosures and enrichment level for dolphins, seals and sea lions, the Ministry of the Solicitor General has said.

In 2021, the province declared all marine mammals at Marineland in distress, citing poor water. Marineland disagreed, filed an appeal to an order, but then dropped its appeal.

A beluga whale and a harbour seal died at the park in mid-August. Nineteen belugas and one killer whale have died there since 2019.

The recent deaths captured the attention of Ford, who has been talking to Phil Demers, the former Marineland trainer-turned outspoken critic of the park, about what to do. Demers has said that Ford mused about seizing the park in their conversations.

Ford and his office have been looking at different options to try to help the whales.

“If we could find beautiful homes for them, and if the federal government approves it, give them a beautiful, nice home,” Ford said Thursday. “But it’s just terrible over there.”

Ford’s comments are a little rich, said the Liberals’ parliamentary leader John Fraser.

“Where’s he been for seven years?” Fraser said. “Empathy without action is just empty. It’s just devoid of any meaning. It means nothing. He’s had the ability to take action and he hasn’t.”

Fraser is also dismayed by the cloak of secrecy around the province’s investigation.

Ford must work with Marineland, marine mammal experts and the federal government on an action plan for the remaining whales and dolphins at the park, said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.

“Marineland clearly does not have the resources to care for these animals, and further delaying a decision on next steps amounts to continued neglect and abuse,” Schreiner said.

“We need to work collaboratively to identify next steps that are in the best interest of the whales, and that means ensuring that they aren’t put back in a situation where they will be exploited for entertainment once again.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2025.

--with files from Kyle Duggan in Ottawa

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press