Investor Marc Wade says he hoped to work with the Ontario government on a plan for purchasing the site for an entertainment complex and wildlife sanctuary, pictured in this supplied rendering.Supplied
A wealthy Canadian financier says that he put forward a multibillion dollar proposal to redevelop Marineland and save 30 whales facing death, but that Ontario Premier Doug Ford has not meaningfully considered the plan.
Marc Wade, a Canadian-born investor living in the Los Angeles area, said he and a real estate developer reached out to the government in the spring about their plan to buy Marineland and turn it into an entertainment complex with a sanctuary for whales and other wildlife.
Mr. Wade said he and the developer, chief executive Fred Knapp of Knapp Capital Management in New York, were trying to work out a deal to purchase Marineland from its owner, and wanted the provincial government to help source the power needed to move ahead with the project.
Mr. Knapp says he met with Mr. Ford and associate energy minister Sam Oosterhoff in late September, and presented them with the vision for the site.
Mr. Wade said that officials, including Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, have expressed interest in the proposal, but that the investors haven’t heard from the province since.
Mr. Wade is a Canadian investor based in Los Angeles.Dave Lawlor/Supplied
“The leaders need to be communicating with people who are trying to invest, let alone billions of dollars. This is ridiculous,” Mr. Wade said in an interview.
In response to questions from The Globe and Mail about Mr. Wade’s proposal, Hannah Jensen, a spokesperson for Mr. Ford’s office, said: “As a private business, Marineland, not the province, is responsible for the management of proposals they receive.”
The province also provided a letter that Mr. Oosterhoff sent to Mr. Knapp on Sept. 12 that outlined the province’s energy goals and commended the investors “for bringing forward a vision that builds on Niagara’s reputation as a world-class destination.”
Ms. Jensen said the province is willing to answer questions about power needs or permit requests, but that the letter, “should not be treated as an endorsement nor support of the project.”
Marineland, in a statement sent by ONpoint Strategy Group spokesperson Krystle Caputo, said it is working with the provincial government to find a solution for the whales and “we sincerely appreciate their willingness to do so.” Ms. Caputo did not address questions about Mr. Wade’s proposal.
Canada’s Marineland theme park, which closed last year, says it may have to euthanize its remaining 30 beluga whales if they don’t receive emergency funding from the government.
Reuters
The fate of the former amusement park, along with 30 beluga whales living there, has been front and centre in recent weeks, as different levels of government point fingers as to who is responsible for the animals.
Marineland, once a major Niagara Falls attraction, has said it may have to euthanize the whales after the federal government denied it an export permit to send the belugas to a theme park in China. Marineland’s request for emergency federal funds was also denied.
Animal-rights groups have for years raised concerns about the park. In 2024, Marineland was found guilty under Ontario’s animal cruelty laws of three charges related to its care of three black bears. Since late 2019, 19 belugas, one killer whale and one dolphin have died at Marineland, but the company has long defended its treatment of animals, saying the deaths were part of the natural life cycle.
Earlier: Marineland’s belugas face euthanasia threat as Ottawa, Ontario point fingers
The park, which has been shuttered since the summer of 2024, has said its bankruptcy is inevitable.
The authority to issue export permits lies with the federal government, but the province is responsible for animal welfare and has the ability to seize animals in distress.
Mr. Ford has said he wants to find “beautiful homes” for the whales. Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said on Oct. 8 that she was speaking with her provincial counterpart about solutions for the animals and that she is open to looking at other permits.
Finding a suitable place for the belugas is complex. Ms. Thompson said she denied the export permits to China because the federal Fisheries Act protects marine mammals from exploitation. However, the whales have lived their lives in captivity and experts say they cannot be released into the ocean.
Beluga whales swim in a tank at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ont., in June, 2023.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Mr. Wade – a former minority owner of the New Jersey Devils hockey team – and Knapp Capital Management call the proposed $4.6-billion complex “the Niagara Experience.” It would include hotels, casinos, an indoor water park and a winter complex, as well as a marine mammal sanctuary.
Knapp Capital Management says it presented a 113-page deck to Mr. Ford and Mr. Oosterhoff in September. The deck, viewed by The Globe, shows a master plan spanning 288 hectares, with an opening date set for December, 2029. It estimates the work would create up to 100,000 jobs.
Part of the proposal includes “Oasis of the Falls,” which is billed as the world’s first inland sanctuary for retired beluga whales and dolphins. The document says the sanctuary would provide lifelong care for the animals free from performance, spectacle or forced breeding.
Mr. Knapp’s office said he met with Mr. Ford and Mr. Oosterhoff on Sept. 23 at Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery in Niagara. Mr. Knapp himself said he was given about 20 minutes to make his pitch to Mr. Ford, and that the Premier had no reaction.
“There was very little exchange in my direct meeting,” he said.
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“We remain ready, willing and able to engage. But as of right now I can tell you, having held 35 years in the real estate and development business, the greatest predictor of success is the partnership and engagement between government and the private sector.”
Mr. Wade said that the group is also looking to put a data centre under the facility, and that the project would require between half a gigawatt and one gigawatt of power, which the group would finance.
“We didn’t want to take any money from Ontario, but we needed to deal with these whales,” Mr. Wade said, adding that he was willing to put up hundreds of millions of dollars to care for the animals.
The project developers say they wanted guarantees from the province that they could have enough electricity for the project.
Mr. Wade said his group hired a lobby firm, Sussex Strategy Group, to help broker a deal with Ontario. He said he believed the province, which KCM later clarified would be Energy Minister Stephen Lecce and Mr. Oosterhoff, would send a letter confirming it would supply the needed power for the project, which would have helped secure the sale.
The Sept. 12 letter from Mr. Oosterhoff was not satisfactory, Mr. Wade said. “We have $5-billion we’re trying to invest in Canada. You don’t treat people who are trying to do that with a dismissal.”
Animal-rights groups have for years raised concerns about Marineland.Tara Walton/The Canadian Press
“I’m a proud Canadian, I want to invest in my own country to do this. I was willing to put up a lot of money to do this. And I don’t think any of this was handled well by the government.”
Mr. Diodati, the Niagara Falls mayor, confirmed he had seen the project plans.
“I definitely liked and appreciated a lot of the great aspects of their proposal. It was an investment of billions of dollars into that park that would turn it back around into a major attraction.”
Mr. Diodati said he spoke with Mr. Lecce, along with Mr. Oosterhoff, about the asks, and that the demands around electricity were significant. The mayor said he was told the amount of electricity required would cost billions in infrastructure.
There have been “some very exciting proposals” for Marineland, Mr. Diodati said, but the added complexity of what to do with the whales has prevented any specific project from going ahead.
“Whoever buys the park is going to have to take care of the whales. And for most of these developers, they don’t have any kind of expertise or understanding of it.”