As the Ford government crafts plans to invigorate Niagara, the cabinet minister the premier assigned the task has suggested that Marineland’s site could — but may not necessarily — be a piece of the puzzle.
Marineland was one of the region’s first large-scale attractions, having operated in Niagara Falls since it opened in the 1960s. In recent decades, the once-iconic marine life draw has struggled, facing fallout from its alleged mistreatment of animals, including its whales, and law and changes in public attitudes that have affected its ability to attract visitors.
In the years since the death of its founder and former owner, John Holer, in 2018, its struggles have escalated — including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ontario's Animal Welfare Services launched an investigation into Marineland in 2020. The province declared all its whales and other marine mammals in distress due to poor water quality and ordered Marineland to fix the issue the next year, which it first appealed but later abandoned.
Marineland went up for sale in 2023. This summer, the park was only open for a couple of months — and, even then, some parts of it were closed entirely. Last month, owner Marie Holer — Marineland’s founder’s widow — died, further adding to the questions about its future.
“My main concern there is the animal welfare, just like the public’s (is),” Stan Cho, minister of tourism, culture and gaming, said on Thursday. “And it is a privately owned land and we hope that they do the right thing and that they listen to the public and look after the welfare of the animals.”
Marineland hadn’t responded to questions The Trillium asked the company about its future in an email before this story was published.
Cho’s comments last week were in response to reporters’ questions about the government’s plans to bolster Niagara as a tourist destination, which he previously said include adding new “amusement parks” in the region.
Premier Doug Ford’s government has worked for at least a couple of years on developing the plans, which it's yet to officially unveil. In the weeks since The Trillium first reported the Ford government was looking to draw more casinos to Niagara Falls to add to its rep as the so-called Las Vegas of the north, Cho and the premier have offered a few glimpses into what the wider vision features.
Their government, Ford and Cho has explained, wants to better connect the region’s existing attractions — like the Falls and Great Lakes that they merge, the city’s casinos, Niagara’s wineries, beaches, and theatre programming — but also add new ones.
“We’re missing the amusement parks. We’re missing the fine dining. That’s why people go to Las Vegas. That’s why that is a one-week (-long) destination,” Cho said at a parliamentary committee meeting on Oct. 9.
Asked whether Marineland, which occupies a 1,000-acre site a few kilometres south of Niagara Falls, is where the government envisions a new amusement park, Cho said on Thursday that while “the site is well situated to the core, there’s no doubt about that.”
“But it is privately held land, and we are not currently in discussions with any of the private matters going around the (possible) sale of the land, but we know that there are other options,” the tourism minister said.
Cho said as there’s “plenty of space in the region” where amusement parks could be located. “The question is now: how do we make more options available and easier for this vision to come true?” Cho said.
To better incentivize potential amusement park developers, or operators, the provincial government’s role is to increase the accessibility of where they could be located through transit and transportation improvements, Cho explained.
The tourism minister said at the Oct. 9 parliamentary committee meeting that he regularly talks to Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria about improving the Niagara Falls International Airport.
Continuing to improve highways and GO Transit services to and from the region are other pieces of the puzzle, Cho has said.
“Our goal isn’t to pick exactly where, and who (will build attractions). Our goal is to create the conditions and provide the necessary background (investments) — or foundation — for those who want to invest capital to do it, because there’s going to be a return (on investment),” the tourism minister said on Thursday.
“This is going to put the Niagara region on the map in ways that’s never been done before and we’re super excited for it.”
—With files from The Canadian Press
