Pet urns and keepsakes in Ottawa
Local crematory counter or online shop? Wood, ceramic, marble or brass? Here's how families in Ottawa choose an urn, with sourced prices and no pressure to decide today.
- No rush: ashes are safe as they are
- Written proofs before engraving
- Help splitting ashes fairly
Ottawa, Ontario
Pet urns in Ottawa: the local picture
Many Ottawa families keep a pet's ashes at home in an urn through the winter, often with a collar and photo, and decide on a lasting memorial once the snow melts. Those with a yard may then add a memorial stone or plant a shrub. Paw prints in clay or ink are easy to take before collection, and a print from snowy paws is not what you want, so ask at the first call.
If you are thinking of scattering ashes, many Ottawa owners think of the Ottawa River, the Rideau Canal or the lookouts in Gatineau Park. These are shared public spaces, busy with skaters, cyclists and hikers depending on the season, so choose a quiet early morning. A keepsake or jewellery holding a small portion is a gentler alternative that stays with you through every winter.
With so many sellers serving Ottawa, comparing prices is easy, but like-for-like comparison isn't. One seller's quoted price includes engraving and shipping; another adds both at checkout. When you compare, write down the capacity in cubic inches, the material, what personalization is included and the delivery date. That turns a confusing page of listings into three or four real choices, and it's the same information we send back when you ask us for options.
About 1,017,000 people live in Ottawa, which makes it the 2nd-largest of the 15 Ontario communities we cover.
Our pages for Kingston (91 miles), Laval (97 miles) and Montreal (103 miles) describe the same choices from those towns' point of view, and the providers overlap, so a quote from one often covers Ottawa as well.
81.1%[1]
CANA projects the Canadian cremation rate will reach 81.1% by 2030.
$20–$100[2]
Memorials.com puts ceramic pet urns at $20–$100.
$30–$150[3]
Memorials.com puts wooden pet urns at $30–$150.
3-5% of body weight[4]
Embrace notes cremated remains typically weigh about 3-5% of the pet's original body weight.
The published sources behind those figures are Memorials.com and Embrace Pet Insurance.
Local cremation habits and the urn question
With roughly 81.1%[1] of people in Canada cremated, the question locally isn't whether to keep ashes but how. That's where urn choice comes in. Many people here have inherited a relative's urn and have strong opinions about what they'd do differently: a smaller size, a lid that screws shut, a material that doesn't show dust. Those lessons apply just as well to a pet.
The Canada percentage above is from CANA Industry Statistical Information (2030) and refers to human funerals. Treat it as context for Ottawa, not as a count of pets.
Heat, cold and damp: materials for Ottawa
If you'd like an outdoor memorial in Ottawa and aren't sure how the seasons will treat it, pick the least fussy option: bury the ashes in a biodegradable urn and mark the place with a flat stone. There's nothing above ground to fade, crack or blow over, and you can add plants around it as you learn how that spot behaves through the year.
What families in Ottawa typically pay for an urn
In Ottawa, as across Canada, the simplest route is often the crematory's own range: ceramic from CA$43–$70[5], brass from CA$99–$128[6] at one BC provider. Small keepsakes aren't always cheaper. The same crematory prices a 1 oz heart keepsake at CA$106[7], more than its full-size solid wood urn at CA$79[7]. Compare keepsake sets rather than single pieces.
The Ontario price table breaks costs down by product; our services page explains what sits behind each line.
Free tool
Memorial budget planner
Add up cremation, urn, keepsakes and a farewell so the total holds no surprises.
Pet ashes and the law in Ontario
Rules about pet ashes are about places, not containers. The urn you choose, whether it's engraved and how long you keep it are entirely your call. What follows for Ontario covers where scattering and burial are generally accepted, so you can plan any outdoor part of the memorial without worrying.
City of Ottawa publishes Ottawa's official guidance. Note that it deals with public collection, not with booking a private cremation.
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.
We keep Ontario's burial and scattering rules in one place: the Ontario rules summary. Before a home burial in Ottawa, also ask the city whether local ordinances add anything.
What to do first, and what can wait
- Let the cremation happen first. The urn can be chosen weeks later; nothing about it has to be settled on the day your pet dies.
- Keep one small thing back before the body leaves, if you can: a clipping of fur or the collar can go into a keepsake later.
- Write down your pet's healthy weight, meaning what they weighed before any illness took its toll, because that number sets the urn size.
- When the ashes arrive, check the label on the bag or box shows your pet's name, then set it somewhere quiet.
- Look at urns slowly, keeping the weight figure nearby for the capacity check, then narrow the field to three at most.
- Order when you feel settled, and ignore any timer on a product page warning that a sale ends soon.
Remembering your pet, in Ottawa and beyond
Ottawa's seasons shape memorials: many families wait until the ground thaws to plant a tree or place a stone, and some choose tulip bulbs, a nod to the flowers that fill the city's parks each May. A bio urn planted with a native maple or serviceberry is another option. Keeping a small portion of ashes in a keepsake first is wise if you might move.
run the numbers with the free planning tools, go deeper with the guides or catch up on recent articles, Our services overview lays out every option side by side, or look at how readers voted in our polls. If you live between Ottawa and Hamilton, Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton, either page applies. Every other community in Ontario, and all of Canada, is listed too.
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.
Where does (or will) your pet's urn live?
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?
Tap an answer to vote and see how others answered. Anonymous.
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
Why does the Ottawa page quote a human cremation rate?
Because it is the best local signal we have. CANA Industry Statistical Information (2030) reports about 81.1%[1] of Canada residents are cremated. There is no official pet equivalent, and inventing one would be worse than quoting a real, clearly labelled number.
Which nearby towns can I compare with Ottawa?
The closest communities we cover are Kingston (about 91 miles), Laval (about 97 miles) and Montreal (about 103 miles). Providers based in those places often serve Ottawa too. Ask each one for a written total that includes collection, so the distance is priced in.
Can two pets share one urn?
Yes. Companion urns are made to hold two sets of ashes, sometimes in separate compartments. Many families prefer matching single urns instead, because pets rarely die at the same time and a companion urn can sit half empty for years. If you do choose a shared urn, size it for both pets' combined weight.
Is it safe to open the bag of pet ashes?
Yes. Cremated remains are dry, sterile bone fragments with no smell, and handling them carries no health risk. They're coarser and heavier than most people expect, a little like pale sand. If you do open the bag, work indoors over a tray, away from open windows and fans, and keep pets out of the room. Wash your hands afterwards, as you would after gardening.
How do I stop a delivered urn from going missing in my building?
Ask the seller to require a signature, have it sent to your workplace or choose a local pickup point. If your building has a package room, let the front desk know a fragile item is coming. Open the box the same day and report any damage straight away, since most sellers set a short window for claims.
Do pet crematories near Ottawa sell urns?
Almost all of them do, and many include a basic urn or wooden box in their private cremation package. The range is usually small but chosen to fit the ashes they return. If you'd like something more personal, you can buy elsewhere and keep the ashes in the temporary container until it arrives. Ask the crematory whether they'll swap the included urn for an upgrade at the price difference.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] CANA projects the Canadian cremation rate will reach 81.1% by 2030. CANA Industry Statistical Information, 2030.
- [2] Memorials.com puts ceramic pet urns at $20–$100. Memorials.com – Pet Urn Cost Guide, 2025.
- [3] Memorials.com puts wooden pet urns at $30–$150. Memorials.com – Pet Urn Cost Guide, 2025.
- [4] Embrace notes cremated remains typically weigh about 3-5% of the pet's original body weight. Embrace Pet Insurance - Bury or Cremate Your Dog? Costs, Pros & Cons, 2025.
- [5] 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.
- [6] 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.
- [7] 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.
- [8] 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.
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