What Can You Do With Ashes in Ontario? Scattering, Keeping and Burial Rules

Last updated: October 4, 2026

In Ontario, cremated remains have three permitted resting places. You can bury them in a licensed cemetery, scatter them, or keep them at home. That list comes from the province’s own regulator.

Most families are surprised by one part of it. In Ontario, scattering on private land is allowed with the owner’s consent. Burying ashes on that same land is not.

One thing to settle before any of it. These decisions belong to the estate trustee named in the will. Where there is no will, they generally fall to the next of kin. Our guide on what to do when someone passes away in Ontario covers the first steps.

Can you keep ashes at home in Ontario?

Yes. The Bereavement Authority of Ontario regulates this sector. Its guide lists keeping the remains at home as one of three permitted options. The guidance sets out no permit and no registration step for keeping them.

Some families keep an urn at home for years before deciding. Others never decide, and that is a choice too.

The regulator does suggest planning ahead. Its guide says it is strongly recommended that you make plans for the final disposition of the remains. That is advice, not a rule.

One practical note, and it favours you. This applies when remains are left with a provider and no burial or scattering has been arranged. The provider must keep them until they are claimed or interred in a cemetery. It may inter them only after one year from the cremation, and after reasonable efforts to contact you.

Can you bury ashes on your own property?

No. This is the part that catches families out.

The BAO’s guide states it plainly. In Ontario, the burial of cremated remains “is not permitted outside a licensed cemetery”. You may scatter them on private property “with the written consent of the land owner”.

Read that twice. In Ontario, scattering on private land is permitted with consent. Burying is not, wherever in the province the land is.

The two government sources differ on one word. The BAO says written consent, and the province’s own page says consent. Get it in writing either way.

So the backyard burial many families picture is not an option in Ontario. Scattering in the same garden is, if you own it or have the owner’s permission.

If you want ashes in the ground, that means a licensed cemetery. You can buy rights to bury them in a lot, or place them in a columbarium niche.

Where can you legally scatter ashes in Ontario?

The province lists several places, and the rules differ by who owns the land.

Crown land. You may scatter on unoccupied Crown land, including land covered by water. Ontario names provincial parks, conservation reserves and the Great Lakes as examples. Do not scatter where a sign prohibits it.

Private property. Allowed with the consent of the land owner. The BAO states it as written consent, so get it in writing even when the land belongs to a relative.

Municipal land. Check the local bylaws first. Ontario says to contact the municipality about bylaws prohibiting scattering in certain areas, including parks.

A cemetery. You can buy scattering rights in a designated part of a cemetery. The BAO notes that scattering rights may not be available at all cemeteries. Our GTA cemetery guide covers where scattering is allowed inside a cemetery.

Through a provider. You can hire a licensed provider to scatter on your behalf. Only a provider is permitted to charge you for that service.

What are the rules in Toronto and the GTA?

Toronto is more open than most families expect. The City says scattering funeral ashes on City land or in Lake Ontario is allowed. It adds that City permission is not required to scatter in Toronto parks or into water.

The City also names one recommended site. At the western edge of Prince of Wales Park, a paved ramp runs into Lake Ontario. The park is at 1 Third St. in Etobicoke, and parking is available. A sign marks the scattering area.

The City calls the spot accessible, scenic and tranquil, though it notes the area has no handrails. It is also less busy than some other waterfront parks. You are not required to use it.

A few City rules are worth knowing before you go. The park closes at midnight and reopens at 5:30 in the morning, under the city’s parks bylaw. The City also asks that you leave nothing in the water or on the shoreline. That includes flowers, notes and photos. The site is not maintained in winter. Snow and ice can build up on the pavement.

The province allows scattering in provincial parks too, on land or into water.

Outside Toronto, treat each municipality separately. Municipal land needs a bylaw check. Crown land does not, unless a sign says otherwise.

The rule about scattering more than once

There is one limit that surprises landowners. Ontario says a land owner allowing repeated scatterings on one property must establish that land as a cemetery. That cemetery also needs a licensed operator.

In plain terms, a single family scattering is fine. But the Act goes further. It forbids maintaining or setting aside land for scattering, unless you are a licensed cemetery operator. The land must also be inside a cemetery.

This matters if relatives start treating one property as the family spot. One scattering is a private act. A pattern of them is a regulated one.

Does any of this change which urn you need?

It changes it more than families expect, and it is worth settling before you buy.

The remains come back in a box or urn with a metal identification tag inside. Keep that tag with them if you move them to another container.

If the ashes are being scattered, the container is temporary. Some families use a simple one and keep nothing afterward. Others scatter part and keep the rest in a keepsake urn.

If the urn is going into a niche, the opening sets the size. Ask the cemetery for that measurement before you choose a shape.

If the urn is going into the ground, the BAO tells families to check the crematorium and cemetery bylaws. Those bylaws set the type and size of container allowed.

You are also free to buy the urn yourself. The BAO guide says you may provide your own urn or purchase one from a provider. Our cremation urns buyer’s guide sets out the sizing rule and what each material suits.

We do not stock scattering urns or biodegradable urns, so those are two options we cannot help with. A funeral home or a specialist seller is where to ask.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to scatter ashes in Ontario?

No permit is named in the province’s scattering guidance. What it sets out instead is the right permission for the land. Private property takes the owner’s consent. Municipal land takes a bylaw check. On Crown land, check for a prohibiting sign.

Can I scatter ashes in Lake Ontario?

Yes. Ontario lists the Great Lakes as unoccupied Crown land covered by water. The City of Toronto says scattering into the lake needs no City permission. Check for signs at the specific spot.

How long can a funeral home keep the ashes?

Ontario’s regulation is more protective than families expect. If remains sit with a provider and no burial or scattering is arranged, the provider must keep them. That duty runs until they are claimed or interred in a cemetery. The provider may inter them only after one year from the cremation, and after reasonable efforts to contact you. If you claim the remains before that interment, any refundable deposit must be refunded.

Can I take the ashes out of Ontario?

Yes, and Ontario lists it as one of the things you may do. The laws of the receiving province or country then apply. For air travel, the BAO points families to the CATSA guidance on cremated remains.

Can I bury ashes in my garden if I own the land?

No. In Ontario, burial of cremated remains outside a licensed cemetery is not permitted, whoever owns the land. Scattering on that land is permitted with the owner’s consent.

Where to start

If you are reading this in the first week after a death, nothing here needs deciding today. The remains can stay with you while the family talks.

When you are ready, the sequence that saves the most trouble is simple. Decide roughly where the ashes will end up. Check the bylaws or signs for that specific place. Then choose the container to suit it.

We sell cremation urns from our showroom in Markham, and we make our custom wood urns there. We ship urns across Canada, and local pickup is free.

Come and look at sizes in person if that helps. Or call 905-604-7555 and tell us where the ashes are going, and we will say what fits.

Sources

• Bereavement Authority of Ontario, Consumer Information Guide, version BAOCIGV16: thebao.ca consumer information guide
• Government of Ontario, Arrange a funeral, burial, cremation, alkaline hydrolysis or scattering, last updated 2024-01-23: ontario.ca
• City of Toronto, Dispersal or Scattering Funeral Ashes into Water, page modified 2025-01-30: toronto.ca
• Ontario Regulation 30/11, section 53, under the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act: ontario.ca
• Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002, section 4: ontario.ca

The first three were retrieved 2026-09-09, and the two law sources 2026-09-10. Reviewed 2026-09-10.