VAUGHAN \u2014 The situation at Marineland, the tourist attraction where 20 whales have died since 2019, is \u201cterrible,\u201d Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Thursday.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have a responsibility to take care of these whales,\u201d Ford said when asked about Marineland at an unrelated press conference. \u201cThey need to make sure that they\u2019re healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said his heart breaks for the \u201cpoor whales\u201d held in captivity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just terrible over there.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Marineland recently requested export permits from the federal government to move all of its belugas out of the country, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said.<\/p>\n
Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson\u2019s office said the government has yet to make a decision on Marineland\u2019s request.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the only decision that falls under the jurisdiction of the federal minister \u2013 to export the mammals or not,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Ford said he believes Marineland is running out of money because it costs $1 million to feed the whales every month.<\/p>\n
Marineland did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cif it is in the best interest\u201d of the animal, with discretion left up to the minister.<\/p>\n
Fisheries and Oceans Canada said it is also aware of the proposed Whale Sanctuary Project in Nova Scotia, but noted it is \u201cnot operational.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019t be granted a Crown lease for 81 hectares of land and water near Wine Harbour, N.S., unless the landowners grant unanimous consent.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Ford and his office have been looking at different options to try to help the whales.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we could find beautiful homes for them, and if the federal government approves it, give them a beautiful, nice home,\u201d Ford said Thursday. \u201cBut it\u2019s just terrible over there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford\u2019s comments are a little rich, said the Liberals\u2019 parliamentary leader John Fraser.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s he been for seven years?\u201d Fraser said. \u201cEmpathy without action is just empty. It\u2019s just devoid of any meaning. It means nothing. He\u2019s had the ability to take action and he hasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fraser is also dismayed by the cloak of secrecy around the province\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarineland 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,\u201d Schreiner said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to work collaboratively to identify next steps that are in the best interest of the whales, and that means ensuring that they aren\u2019t put back in a situation where they will be exploited for entertainment once again.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2025.<\/p>\n
–with files from Kyle Duggan in Ottawa<\/p>\n
Liam Casey, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VAUGHAN \u2014 The situation at Marineland, the tourist attraction where 20 whales have died since 2019, is \u201cterrible,\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":170611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[295,43,44,11867,714,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-170610","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-ontario-quebec","12":"tag-politics","13":"tag-top-news","14":"tag-top-stories","15":"tag-topnews","16":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}