Not legal to have them in captivity any more in Canada, since you mentioned moving there. But also a bad idea. Free roaming animals die young. Look what happened to Canuck the crow. I know his person wants to think he was kidnapped but he was most likely hit by a car or killed by cat, dolphin threats will include boats, sharks, other dolphins. Animals that will approach humans are also at greater risk from humans. Prior to his disappearance Canuck was hit by a human he approached that didn't like crows. It's a romantic idea to live with truly wild animals but it's not practical and actually impossible. Once you tame something even partially it's not wild any more and letting it roam puts it at a great disadvantage to truly wild animals.

Plus dolphins being on the high end of intelligence need their mothers to teach them things they need in the wild, including the language of their wild pod. They are also naturally migratory and sticking around to be with you will not be good for it. And there is a lot more exposure to disease in ocean water.

I agree with Mary, I also don't think it would be a good idea to release a dolphin in the ocean.  Would be nice if you had a pond on your property. you should be able to keep a dolphin in a private pond.

wouldn't they need saltwater though? and a lot of room? 🙁 I'm most likely never going to get a dolphin, this was just a thought. 

@splashstorm

Yes but they make the saltwater, similar to how people keep saltwater aquariums. This means they are not exposed to the diseases, toxins and trash of the ocean water.

oh, i see.... seems expensive to keep the whole pond salty. so like buy saltwater or put salt in the water?

@splashstorm-lost-my-pw

I really don't know how they could be kept in a private pond.  also, I have no  idea how you would go about putting salt in a private pond.
Have you considered another type of animal?  

I don't know if you ever watched some of the old shows. I loved the 'beverly hillbillies"  the woman that played "EllyMae" loved animals. on the show
they always had many different type of animals.  Their was some seals they had in their pond (well they called it a cement pond LOL").  That was interesting.  Heck, there were times they brought them in the house.

If you decide to get a large water animal, you really should think of another type.  maybe the seals?
 
I personally have a pond, but, I have large catfish, and some to other type. I have one spot at the pond where I feed them, they would surface to the top and I was able to see them clearly.
many will wait for me to throw food in for them.  In the cold months  they don't really eat. they stay at the bottom of the pond.      I also have a goose and some ducks that use the pond.
sometimes it is funny, I would see the ducks swimming, then kind of jump up, cause a cat fish must of nipped it or bumped it.  not really sure, but the ducks were never injured.                            

I have a little dream that if I moved to some Polynesian island, I could have my own pet dolphin. 🙃 

It would never happen though, it would likely not be legal, and as explained, dangerous. Dolphins that like people will approach boats, and be at risk for being killed by them, not to mention "rescued" and taken away by people who see a "wild" dolphin approaching people (it's not normal behavior).

I don't know of anyone who has kept dolphins privately, except a killer whale named Benkei 3 who was supposedly owned privately in Japan for 18 months before his death. I imagine the upkeep of a pool (minimum 150 000 gallons or so) would be insanely expensive, but it's safer and healthier for them (a good pool with proper safety, water quality and enrichment) than being a tame dolphin loose in the sea, or in a sea pen.

I've also thought that if I were a millionaire (which is also never going to happen 😆), I would get a pool with some Commerson's dolphins in it. They are the smallest of all dolphins and so should be easier to keep, but bottlenoses also do very well in human care. (Fun fact: Commerson's dolphins maximum lifespan in the wild is some 18 years. One of SeaWorld's died the other year at 38, and they have another today who is probably ~40.