diff --git a/cmd/controlplane/api.go b/cmd/controlplane/api.go
index 87f280af2..b9f9c39a2 100644
--- a/cmd/controlplane/api.go
+++ b/cmd/controlplane/api.go
@@ -81,17 +81,28 @@ func (o *apiOptions) run(ctx context.Context) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error creating Kubernetes client for Kargo API server: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	switch {
-	case !serverCfg.RolloutsIntegrationEnabled:
-		o.Logger.Info("Argo Rollouts integration is disabled")
-	case !argoRolloutsExists(ctx, restCfg):
-		o.Logger.Info(
-			"Argo Rollouts integration was enabled, but no Argo Rollouts " +
-				"CRDs were found. Proceeding without Argo Rollouts integration.",
-		)
-		serverCfg.RolloutsIntegrationEnabled = false
-	default:
-		o.Logger.Info("Argo Rollouts integration is enabled")
+	if serverCfg.RolloutsIntegrationEnabled {
+		var exists bool
+		if exists, err = argoRolloutsExists(ctx, restCfg); !exists || err != nil {
+			// If we are unable to determine if Argo Rollouts is installed, we
+			// will return an error and fail to start the server. Note this
+			// will only happen if we get an inconclusive response from the API
+			// server (e.g. due to network issues), and not if Argo Rollouts is
+			// not installed.
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("unable to determine if Argo Rollouts is installed: %w", err)
+			}
+
+			o.Logger.Info(
+				"Argo Rollouts integration was enabled, but no Argo Rollouts " +
+					"CRDs were found. Proceeding without Argo Rollouts integration.",
+			)
+			serverCfg.RolloutsIntegrationEnabled = false
+		} else {
+			o.Logger.Debug("Argo Rollouts integration is enabled")
+		}
+	} else {
+		o.Logger.Debug("Argo Rollouts integration is disabled")
 	}
 
 	if serverCfg.AdminConfig != nil {
diff --git a/cmd/controlplane/controller.go b/cmd/controlplane/controller.go
index 21aed22f9..8dddec92b 100644
--- a/cmd/controlplane/controller.go
+++ b/cmd/controlplane/controller.go
@@ -158,7 +158,8 @@ func (o *controllerOptions) setupKargoManager(
 		)
 	}
 	if stagesReconcilerCfg.RolloutsIntegrationEnabled {
-		if argoRolloutsExists(ctx, restCfg) {
+		var exists bool
+		if exists, err = argoRolloutsExists(ctx, restCfg); exists {
 			o.Logger.Info("Argo Rollouts integration is enabled")
 			if err = rollouts.AddToScheme(scheme); err != nil {
 				return nil, stagesReconcilerCfg, fmt.Errorf(
@@ -167,6 +168,18 @@ func (o *controllerOptions) setupKargoManager(
 				)
 			}
 		} else {
+			// If we are unable to determine if Argo Rollouts is installed, we
+			// will return an error and fail to start the controller. Note this
+			// will only happen if we get an inconclusive response from the API
+			// server (e.g. due to network issues), and not if Argo Rollouts is
+			// not installed.
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, stagesReconcilerCfg, fmt.Errorf(
+					"unable to determine if Argo Rollouts is installed: %w",
+					err,
+				)
+			}
+
 			// Disable Argo Rollouts integration if the CRDs are not found.
 			stagesReconcilerCfg.RolloutsIntegrationEnabled = false
 			o.Logger.Info(
@@ -241,7 +254,16 @@ func (o *controllerOptions) setupArgoCDManager(ctx context.Context) (manager.Man
 	// There's a chance there is only permission to interact with Argo CD
 	// Application resources in a single namespace, so we will use that
 	// namespace when attempting to determine if Argo CD CRDs are installed.
-	if !argoCDExists(ctx, restCfg, argocdNamespace) {
+	var exists bool
+	if exists, err = argoCDExists(ctx, restCfg, argocdNamespace); !exists || err != nil {
+		// If we are unable to determine if Argo CD is installed, we will
+		// return an error and fail to start the controller. Note this
+		// will only happen if we get an inconclusive response from the API
+		// server (e.g. due to network issues), and not if Argo CD is not
+		// installed.
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to determine if Argo CD is installed: %w", err)
+		}
 		o.Logger.Info(
 			"Argo CD integration was enabled, but no Argo CD CRDs were found. " +
 				"Proceeding without Argo CD integration.",
diff --git a/cmd/controlplane/utils.go b/cmd/controlplane/utils.go
index 1d31b5390..2a7194744 100644
--- a/cmd/controlplane/utils.go
+++ b/cmd/controlplane/utils.go
@@ -7,38 +7,41 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime/schema"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/dynamic"
 	"k8s.io/client-go/rest"
+	"sigs.k8s.io/controller-runtime/pkg/client"
 )
 
 func argoCDExists(
 	ctx context.Context,
 	restCfg *rest.Config,
 	namespace string,
-) bool {
-	if client, err := dynamic.NewForConfig(restCfg); err == nil {
-		if _, err = client.Resource(
+) (bool, error) {
+	c, err := dynamic.NewForConfig(restCfg)
+	if err == nil {
+		if _, err = c.Resource(
 			schema.GroupVersionResource{
 				Group:    "argoproj.io",
 				Version:  "v1alpha1",
 				Resource: "applications",
 			},
 		).Namespace(namespace).List(ctx, metav1.ListOptions{Limit: 1}); err == nil {
-			return true
+			return true, nil
 		}
 	}
-	return false
+	return false, client.IgnoreNotFound(err)
 }
 
-func argoRolloutsExists(ctx context.Context, restCfg *rest.Config) bool {
-	if client, err := dynamic.NewForConfig(restCfg); err == nil {
-		if _, err = client.Resource(
+func argoRolloutsExists(ctx context.Context, restCfg *rest.Config) (bool, error) {
+	c, err := dynamic.NewForConfig(restCfg)
+	if err == nil {
+		if _, err = c.Resource(
 			schema.GroupVersionResource{
 				Group:    "argoproj.io",
 				Version:  "v1alpha1",
 				Resource: "analysistemplates",
 			},
 		).List(ctx, metav1.ListOptions{Limit: 1}); err == nil {
-			return true
+			return true, nil
 		}
 	}
-	return false
+	return false, client.IgnoreNotFound(err)
 }