Cemetery Preservation
OHS-OGS Unregistered Cemeteries Committee
From left to right: Rob Leverty, OHS; Diane Clendenan, OHS; the Hon. John Gerretsen, Minister of Consumer Services (responsible for cemeteries), MPP (Kingston and the Islands); Marjorie Stuart, OGS; Jim Brownell, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister, MPP (Stormont-Dundas South Glengarry) and Bob Crawford, Secretary and Past President, OGS.
Since 2005, with the help from members of The Ontario Historical Society and Ontario Genealogical Society, Marjorie Stuart and Diane Clendenan have donated countless hours to research, document and compile a listing of over 1,500 unregistered cemeteries across Ontario.
In 2011, a joint Ontario Historical Society and Ontario Genealogical Society volunteer committee was formed to begin a project to locate all of the cemeteries across Ontario which have not yet been registered with the Province (Ministry of Consumer Services) and therefore do not enjoy the same legal protection.
Read joint OHS-OGS letter to Registrar, March 29, 2012.
In 2022, the Unregistered Cemeteries Committee completed their submission of unregistered cemeteries, and presented the full list (below) to the Province of Ontario and the Bereavement Authority of Ontario.
Unregistered cemeteries in the following counties/districts have been documented (date updated):
Download complete list (opens 71-page PDF).
Registering a Cemetery
Unregistered cemeteries have very little protection under the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act. These cemeteries may be relocated with the minimum of notice and input from interested parties. There is very little that can be done to protect burial sites and the dignity of the deceased if their presence is unknown to authorities.
It is important that all known burial locations in Ontario be registered with:
Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO)
100 Sheppard Ave East, Suite 505
Toronto, ON M2N 6N5
Registrar@TheBAO.ca
MPBSD Registrar, Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act
Ministry of Public and Business Services Delivery
56 Wellesley Street West, 16th Floor
Toronto, ON M7A 1C1
FBCSARegistrar@ontario.ca
All cemeteries should also be recorded on the municipality’s Official Town Plan. This is particularly important in the case of unmarked burial sites. Interested parties should contact their Municipality’s Clerk, or if possible, its heritage planner for more information.
Cemetery Defence Fund
Priceville Black Cemetery, preserved and protected by the Old Durham Road Pioneer Cemetery Committee, an OHS affiliate since 1999. Photo: Rob Leverty.
The Ontario Historical Society works to protect the vulnerable and valuable heritage of Ontario’s cemeteries. The resources of the OHS are constantly challenged as we try to defend threatened cemeteries across the province.
We can’t do it alone – click here to make a donation to the Cemetery Defence Fund to help support the work of the OHS-OGS Unregistered Cemeteries Committee. Charitable tax receipts are issued for all donations to this Fund.
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