People's Cemetery in Charlottetown sees increased demand for cremations

A new columbarium at the People's Cemetery in Charlottetown could be pointing to an increased demand for cremation on P.E.I., the cemetery's chair says.

A columbarium is an above-ground unit to store urns of cremated ashes. The cemetery's current unit has 72 spots with the new unit is expected to add 100.

"In general cremations have been growing on Prince Edward Island," said Dennis MacDonald, chair of the People's Cemetery. "It wasn't that many years ago that there were really no cremations. And now it's about 50 per cent."

Shifting attitudes 

Attitudes toward traditional burials are shifting and people are seeking alternatives, MacDonald said.  

"People have been looking for a wide range of options," he said.

Over the past four years, the number of Islanders using the cemetery's first columbarium has grown rapidly, MacDonald said. It was purchased by the cemetery about a decade ago.

While MacDonald is seeing an increase in demand for cremation at the cemetery in Charlottetown, the P.E.I. Funeral Directors and Embalmers Association said cemetery plots remain affordable in rural areas on P.E.I., leaving less demand for columbariums.

Only a couple of cemeteries on P.E.I. have them, said David Ferguson, association president.

'More and more looking at cremation'

There are still more than 1,000 traditional plots left at the People's Cemetery, MacDonald said. But the addition of the new columbarium is meant to keep up with the demands and direction being taken by the market, he said.

"We were finding that more and more people are looking at cremation," he said.

Prices for spots in the columbarium typically begin at $1,500, MacDonald said.

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