Pet Urns in Ontario
Your pet's ashes are safe in the temporary container for as long as you need. When you're ready, this page explains what urns cost, how long engraving takes and what works in your home in Ontario.
- Sourced urn prices by material
- Engraving and delivery times explained
- Keepsakes for family in other cities
Ontario, Canada
Pet Urns in Ontario: what to know
Weather varies a lot across Ontario, and it matters for any urn kept outdoors or any plan to bury or scatter ashes. In the hottest places, summer highs reach about °F, enough to fade wood and printed photos in direct sun. In the coldest, winter lows average °F, cold enough to crack porous ceramic left outside and freeze the ground for burial.
Urn choice in Ontario also depends on how the ashes come back. Most crematories return them as fine, pale grit in a sealed bag, sized roughly in proportion to your pet's weight. The standard rule of one cubic inch of urn space per pound of healthy weight works well almost everywhere, and the urn size calculator does the arithmetic.
We cover 15 communities in Ontario, from Toronto, Ottawa and Mississauga to smaller towns.
Every Ontario community we cover
Choose your city or town for local prices, weather and timing, and rules. 15 communities in Ontario, largest first below.
How Ontario thinks about cremation and urns
With cremation at roughly 81.1%[1] in Ontario, many families here have already scattered a relative somewhere meaningful. That experience often shapes what they do for a pet: part of the ashes kept indoors, the rest returned to a beach, a trail or a garden. If that's your plan, buy the urn after the scattering, so it's sized for what's left.
We take the Ontario percentage from CANA Industry Statistical Information (2030). It refers to people; attitudes to cremating a pet tend to follow it.
Pet urn and engraving prices for Ontario
Canadian crematories often publish their urn prices. One in British Columbia lists ceramic ginger-jar urns at CA$43–$70[2], wooden photo urns at CA$68–$88[3] (a nameplate is CA$15 extra[3]) and brass urns at CA$99–$128[4], depending on size. Providers in Ontario will usually be in a similar range. Ordering from a US seller can look cheaper, but duties, exchange rates and cross-border shipping often close the gap.
If you're comparing a Canadian crematory's urn with one from a US website, add up the landed cost. Duties and brokerage fees can apply to cross-border parcels, and a fragile urn is harder to return. A BC crematory's wooden photo urns cost CA$68–$88[3], which is hard to beat once those extras are counted. The table below shows the rest of that published range.
| Urn | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ceramic ginger-jar urn | CA$43–$70[2] | Petite (under 15 lb) to large (50 to 120 lb) |
| Wooden photo urn | CA$68–$88[3] | Nameplate extra |
| Brass urn | CA$99–$128[4] | Up to 50 lb or 50 to 100 lb |
| 1 oz heart keepsake | CA$106[5] | Costs more than a full-size wood urn |
| Source | Okanagan Pet Cremation urns | Prices in Canadian dollars |
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Scattering and burial rules in Ontario
If you'd like to bury the urn itself, the material matters for more than looks. A biodegradable urn breaks down within a few seasons, while metal, resin or sealed hardwood stays intact for years, which some cemeteries and landowners prefer and others don't accept. Check before you order. The notes below summarize Ontario.
In Canada, many pet crematories publish their urn prices in Canadian dollars, which makes comparison easier. Ordering from a US website can add duties, brokerage fees and delays, and a broken ceramic urn is hard to return across the border. Winter weather can also slow deliveries, so order engraved urns early if you're planning a spring burial or scattering.
- Burial at home: Confirm the rule for the actual parcel and proposed burial with the local authority and property owner.
- Scattering ashes: Ask the exact land manager about scattering before making arrangements; a general gathering permission is a separate matter.
- Who oversees it: the authority responsible for the specific activity and location; this guide does not identify a universal permit or licensing rule
- Worth knowing: Record the service method, release authority, identification and return instructions in writing.
A city's population does not establish which aftercare activities are allowed at an address. Check the actual site and activity before proceeding.
Step by step in Ontario
- Decide whether each pet gets its own urn or whether you'd like a matching set that grows over the years.
- Pick a design that will still be made later, ideally one a nearby craftsperson could reproduce, if future urns need to match.
- Size each urn for one pet; buying a companion urn for two is best left until you actually have both sets of ashes.
- Label the base of every urn with a name and dates, even if the front is engraved, so they're never mixed up.
- Leave shelf space next to the first urn, so that adding another later doesn't mean moving everything around.
- File each crematory certificate with its urn, in an envelope taped underneath or kept together in a drawer.
Ways to remember your pet at home
Children often want something of their own to hold. A small keepsake urn on a bedside table, or a soft photo cushion, can help a child in Ontario feel included without keeping the main urn in their room. Let them help choose it, or write something to go inside the urn's base.
From here: services and prices, the free tools, what readers voted in the polls, or the map of every location.
Reader polls
What would you choose?
Vote anonymously and see how other readers answered. The results are live counts from people who visit this site, so they show real opinions, not a scientific sample.
Will your pet's ashes stay together or be shared?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you were choosing your pet's urn today, which material would you pick?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
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Free tools to help you plan
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Urn size calculator
Find the urn volume you need from your pet's weight, plus keepsake and sharing options.
Ashes sharing planner
Split ashes fairly between family members, keepsake urns and jewelry.
Questions people ask
How can our family share a pet's ashes across Ontario?
Set aside small shares before filling the main urn and give each person a matching keepsake. The ashes sharing planner shows how much each share can hold. Keepsake or mini urns typically cost $15–$60[7] in the US (per one large retailer), and sets are cheaper per piece.
Can I bury my pet's urn at home in Ontario?
Burying ashes on land you own is generally allowed and much simpler than burying a body. Renters need the landlord's agreement, and homeowners' associations can be stricter. A biodegradable urn returns to the soil; a sealed wooden or metal urn lasts much longer. If you might move, keep a portion indoors.
What should I ask a crematory in Ontario about urns?
Ask what container the ashes come back in, whether an urn is included in the price, what an upgrade would cost and whether they'll place the ashes into an urn you bring. Ask too how long engraving takes if you order through them. Getting the answers in writing makes it easy to compare with any urn you find elsewhere.
What size urn does my pet need?
Allow about one cubic inch of urn space for every pound of your pet's healthy weight, plus about 10% to close the lid comfortably. A 12 lb cat needs about 12 cubic inches; a 70 lb dog about 70[6]. The urn size calculator works it out in cubic inches and millilitres.
Which urn materials cope best with the weather in Ontario?
Indoors, almost any urn is fine away from direct sun and heaters. Outdoors, granite, sealed stone and outdoor-rated metal handle both heat and frost; wood and unglazed ceramic don't. With summer highs around °F in Ontario and winter lows near °F in Ontario, the right choice depends on where you are.
Which places in Ontario have the widest choice of pet urns?
Usually the largest cities, such as Toronto, Ottawa and Mississauga, where crematories keep display ranges and independent makers and engravers are easier to find. Smaller towns rely more on the vet clinic's catalog and on delivery from online shops. If you'd like to see urns in person, a trip to the nearest large city can be worth it for stone or glass.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] CANA projects the Canadian cremation rate will reach 81.1% by 2030. CANA Industry Statistical Information, 2030.
- [2] Okanagan Pet Cremation's ceramic ginger-jar pet urns cost CA$43–$70, from petite (under 15 lb) to large (50–120 lb). Okanagan Pet Cremation – Urns, 2026.
- [3] A Canadian pet crematory (Okanagan Pet Cremation) sells wooden photo urns for CA$68–$88 by pet size, plus CA$15 for a nameplate. Okanagan Pet Cremation – Urns, 2026.
- [4] Brass pet urns at Okanagan Pet Cremation cost CA$99 (up to 50 lb) or CA$128 (50–100 lb); slate paw urns cost CA$99–$140. Okanagan Pet Cremation – Urns, 2026.
- [5] A 1 oz heart keepsake urn costs CA$106 at Okanagan Pet Cremation, more than its full-size solid wood urn at CA$79. Okanagan Pet Cremation – Urns, 2026.
- [6] Using the industry rule of thumb of 1 cubic inch of urn space per pound of body weight, a 12 lb cat needs an urn of about 12 cubic inches; a 70 lb dog needs about 70 cubic inches. Our estimate: urn cu in = body weight lb x 1 (industry rule of thumb, not a measured value). How we calculate.
- [7] Keepsake or mini pet urns cost about $15–$60, versus $25–$100 for small and $40–$200 for medium urns (Memorials.com). Memorials.com – Pet Urn Cost Guide, 2025.
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