A Canadian investor says Ontario has given his $4.6 billion Marineland redevelopment proposal little more than a polite brush-off despite the province’s surging demand for electricity and an urgent animal welfare crisis at the park.
Marc Wade, a Canadian-born financier based in Los Angeles, and Fred Knapp of Knapp Capital Management presented a plan in September to transform the closed amusement park into a massive entertainment complex with an inland whale sanctuary. The investors met with Premier Doug Ford and Associate Energy Minister Sam Oosterhoff on Sept. 23. Knapp said he had roughly 20 minutes to make his case. Since then, Wade says provincial officials have given them minimal engagement.
“We have $5 billion we’re trying to invest in Canada,” Wade told The Globe and Mail. “You don’t treat people who are trying to do that with a dismissal.”
The development would span 288 hectares and include hotels, casinos, an indoor water park, a data center, and “Oasis of the Falls” — described as the world’s first inland sanctuary for retired marine mammals. The sanctuary would house Marineland’s 30 beluga whales, which face possible euthanasia as the bankrupt park runs out of money to care for them.
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Wade and Knapp are requesting provincial guarantees for electricity supply — between 500 megawatts and one gigawatt of power — which they would finance themselves. Wade emphasized the investors weren’t seeking subsidies, only assurance they could purchase the electricity needed for operations.
In response to inquiries, Hannah Jensen, a spokesperson for Ford’s office, said: “As a private business, Marineland, not the province, is responsible for the management of proposals they receive.” The province provided a Sept. 12 letter from Oosterhoff commending the investors’ vision but clarifying it “should not be treated as an endorsement nor support of the project.”
Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati confirmed he viewed the proposal favorably but said provincial officials told him the electricity requirements would cost billions in infrastructure investment.
The situation comes as Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator forecasts demand will grow 75% by 2050, with data centers supporting artificial intelligence driving much of the increase. More than 6,500 megawatts of data center capacity — equivalent to 30% of Ontario’s current peak demand — is seeking grid connections.
Marineland closed in summer 2024 and faces bankruptcy. The federal government denied export permits to send the whales to China, and the park has said it’s running out of money to feed the animals.
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