Marineland has solid plan to move whales and dolphins to U.S., minister says

A dolphin jumps out of the water as it performs during a show at Marineland amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ont., Friday, June 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO — Marineland has a “solid plan” to move Canada’s last remaining captive whales and dolphins to several parks in the United States, Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said Tuesday.

On Monday, the minister conditionally approved the shuttered Niagara Falls, Ont., theme park’s application to export its 30 belugas and four dolphins south of the border.

• Ottawa gives conditional OK for Marineland to export remaining belugas

“This is a solid plan to allow these animals to live their life in much more healthy conditions,” Thompson said.

The conditions she placed on the export permits include a health assessment of the animals by an accredited veterinarian and a transportation plan to get them to the American institutions.

Marineland is in talks with Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and SeaWorld, which has several U.S. locations.

The tentative approval comes after Marineland presented what it called an “urgent rescue solution” to the federal government last week.

Marineland gave Ottawa a deadline of Jan. 30 to approve the export permits, otherwise it would go ahead with its backup plan to euthanize the belugas and dolphins, according to a letter Thompson wrote to the park that was obtained by The Canadian Press.

• Marineland presents plan to federal government to ship remaining whales, dolphins to U.S.: CP sources

Twenty whales — one killer whale and 19 belugas — have died at Marineland since 2019, based on internal records and official statements collected by The Canadian Press.

In October, Marineland applied to the federal government for export permits to ship its 30 belugas to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, an aquarium in China.

Thompson denied those permits, saying she would not subject the whales to a future performing in captivity, which is consistent with a federal law passed in 2019. In response to that denial, Marineland threatened to begin killing the whales unless it received emergency funding from the federal government. Ottawa did not provide funding.

Marineland has consistently told Thompson in recent months it is in dire financial straits and needs financing in order to pay for the belugas’ care.

The park’s latest request for export permits is different, Thompson explained.

“In this instance it is an accredited site and I’m confident that the standards of care for the belugas and dolphins will be in line with what exists within the Fisheries Act and what we expect in Canada,” Thompson said.

A 2019 law banned whale and dolphin captivity, though Marineland’s animals were grandfathered in. It also made breeding illegal, which forced Marineland to separate the male and female belugas.

It also banned importing and exporting of whales with an exception for research purposes, but gave the minister the power to make an exception if it is in the best interest of the animals. Thompson said it was, indeed, in the best interest of the animals to be moved to the United States.

The American aquariums said they are “deeply grateful to Fisheries and Oceans Canada for their commitment to the well-being of the belugas at Marineland of Canada.”

It is still too early to say exactly where the belugas may go or on what timetable, they said.

“As our organizations have said from the beginning, our focus is on the individual needs of the belugas themselves,” said Shedd Aquarium, Mystic Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium and SeaWorld in a joint statement.

“To that end, our experts remain focused on using our recent observations of the whales to inform a potential rescue plan that is rooted in science and responds to the physical and social needs of the belugas.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2026.

— With files from David Baxter and Kyle Duggan in Ottawa

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press