Marineland has allegedly requested up to $20 million in federal funds to relocate its whales
A government source said the deal is being delayed because Marineland won’t disclose its finances. A Marineland spokesperson called the claim “confusingly inaccurate”
What a week it’s been for dizzying multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded transactions.
With attention still rightfully on the provincial government’s short-lived purchase of a $28.9-million private jet for Premier Doug Ford (the government announced it would re-sell the jet, following backlash), another perplexing story has come up, this one about Marineland.
CBC reported today that, per a senior government source, Marineland allegedly requested $10 to $20 million in federal funds, in order to relocate 30 whales and four dolphins to various aquatic institutions throughout the United States. (Back in October, Marineland informed Canada’s fisheries minister, Joanne Thompson, that it would have to euthanize the creatures still in its possession if it did not receive federal funding to cover relocation. The Niagara Falls amusement park, long criticized over animal welfare complaints, has been closed since 2024.)
Related: Marineland is threatening to euthanize 30 belugas. Can it do that?
CBC’s source said the government had approved the loan, but claimed Marineland officials declined to disclose company finances, which would be required in order for the government to proceed.
“They are unwilling to open their books and Canadians would expect a higher level of transparency for the loan of funds,” the source said.
When contacted by CBC, a Marineland spokesperson declined to comment, saying the complex rehoming process was actively in discussion. “While we continue to explore all potential avenues for support—including discussions with the government regarding the process—we do not comment on rumours or speculation,” they said.
But to CHCH, Marineland called reports “confusingly inaccurate.”
“Cooperative discussions are ongoing and progressing well with cooperating facilities in the United States and the Department of Fisheries regarding the safe rehousing of the whales,” a spokesperson said. “Everything is on track for safe rehousing.”
For the whales’ sake, let’s hope!
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
