Canada Funeral and Cremation Service Market Overview, 2029

Canada Funeral and Cremation Service Market Overview, 2029

The Canadian funeral and cremation market has changed greatly over the decades with changing societal values and cultural practices. Traditionally, the community maintained their dead through burials, but later from the late 20th century, cremation began its rise as it was more affordable and for environmental reasons, since memorial services became easier. In 2021, Canada recorded a national cremation rate of about 75%, which manifests the great reception it had won. Government regulation with respect to cremation and funeral services is largely a provincial matter. Each province has its specific legislation regarding health and safety standards, licensing crematoriums, or consumer protection. For example, Ontario's Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act outlines what is required of service providers in terms of transparency in pricing and ethical behaviour. In most marketplaces, local funeral homes play a very critical role; each seeks to make it personal and drive community connections. With changing consumer preferences, the market innovates options to include eco-friendly cremation practices and digital memorialization so that Canadian families will have a variety of respectable and meaningful choices at end-of-life. Canadian Funerals Online was developed to assist families across Canada in need of making funeral arrangements whether searching for a funeral home or crematorium or seeking the very latest information about funeral services and products. Key participants in the Canadian funeral and cremation market include upscale companies such as Arbor Memorial, Service Corporation International, along with thousands of locally based family-owned funeral homes. Arbor Memorial provides cremation, burial, and pre-planning services. SCI is one of the largest funeral and cemetery operators in North America, with many funeral homes and cemeteries across Canada that offer a wide variety of services to meet most family requirements.

According to the research report, ""Canada Funeral and Cremation Services Market Outlook, 2029,"" published by Bonafide Research, the Canada funeral and cremation services market is anticipated to add to more than USD 400 Million by 2024–29. Economic factors play an important role in shaping the funeral and cremation services market. Families might be more inclined to choose more modest, or at least cheaper, options during hard times, such as recession, or generally due to a lack of ability to spend resulting from financial instability modest funeral arrangements, or cremation instead of expensive burial. Willingness to spend for personalized, elaborate services may well characterize periods of prosperity. Pre-need planning has also evolved as a means to plan for the future and reduce the financial burden on family members. Canada's aging population would be expected to make a great impact on the funeral and cremation services market. As the Baby Boomer generation, born between 1946 and 1964, becomes older, the demand for end-of-life services is increasingly growing. Due to the median age of Canadians, there is a rise in the need for funeral and cremation services. More so, Canada's population variety with different cultural and ethnic groups affects funeral practices and needs, hence demanding a variety of services to cater to cultural and religious variance. Funeral service practices and cultural attitudes towards death and memorialization are changing in Canada. There is a movement away from traditional burial towards cremation due to cost, environmental concerns, and societal trends. It is considered flexible, less expensive, uses less space, and there are so many memorialization options. According to a broader perspective, this trend is driven by a change in the way Canadians approach death and remembrance personalized and less conventional services.

Cremation segment has maintained the lead, and several factors contribute to this. More often than not, cremation is relatively cheaper compared to other traditional burials, so it has a better appeal to the wallet of very cost-conscious consumers. Apart from that, increasing secularization and environmental awareness in Canada add to the popularity, as cremation is believed to be more eco-friendly. Another reason for this demand is that cremation allows a lot of flexibility when planning memorial services. This suits those who are looking for a more personalized and less traditional end-of-life celebration. One of the fast-growing segments is Funeral Planning Services people pre-planning their own funerals. This ensures their wishes are carried out and relieves the families from the burden. The aging population, being more aware of the benefits accruing from pre-planning, is driving this sector, as well as the active promotion by funeral homes. Transportation means transferring the remains from the place of death either to a funeral home or crematorium or, at times, to the final resting place. This segment is solid and forms part of the foundation of the industry because this is a service that applies to all of the bereaved, irrespective of whether the body is to be buried or cremated. The Body Preparation and Interment segment includes services associated with embalming, casketing, and burial or entombment of the remains. While still a significant piece of the market, the segment growth for body preparation and interment will be lower when compared to other segments due to an increased adoption rate of cremation, many times requiring little or no traditional body preparation. The others category includes services like memorial ceremonies, bereavement counseling, estate planning, and related products such as urns, caskets, and memorial jewelry.

The segment that is ruling the market at present is the Immediate Need segment. It appeals to those families that have faced an untimely or recent death and has an instant need for funeral or cremation facilities. This segment dominates the market because of the fact of death's certainty and the fact that most families still don't plan in advance for it. Moreover, many cultural and religious rituals demand immediate attention toward funeral rituals. Added to this is the fact that the segment's leadership position is further supported by continuous growth of the Canadian population and the inevitable mortality rate. Driving growth in the pre-planned segment, a number of factors are identified to be at work. There is an increasing awareness among Canadians about the benefits of pre-planning their funerals or cremations. It allows a person to make their own decisions regarding end-of-life services, relieves the emotional and financial stress on families, and ensures the person's wishes are carried out. The aging population of Canada, more so the baby boomers, is the reason for growth in this segment since they are more proactive about planning for the end of life. Another driving force is still economic. Funeral homes are marketing pre-need planning services, by educating consumers on the benefits and flexible payment plans to make it accessible. The Pre-Planned segment is also driven by economic factors. Pre-planning tends to be a means of planning one's finances more effectively by deferring the related costs over time and with some providers offering price guarantees that protect from future inflation.

The Offline segment currently dominates this market. Traditional funeral homes, crematoria, and cemeteries come under this category of physical or offline ordering of services. Due to the sensitive and very personal nature of funeral arrangements, most of the times, one needs to communicate in person. Hence, the offline channel dominates the market. It is claimed that due to the emotional content of the services and the need for clear communication in such matters, one has to opt for offline services. Besides, the developed infrastructure and age-long traditions of offline services reinforce this fact. Many families also appreciate the tangible and familiar environment of physical locations for planning and conducting funeral services. The Online segment, however, is growing fast owing to several factors. Increasing digital literacy and internet penetration amongst Canadians, online platforms are becoming more accessible and convenient for consumers to arrange funeral and cremation services. Online channels provide easy price comparison between two or more services providers, their services, and reviews, thereby empowering customers to make better decisions. Moreover, COVID-19 has accelerated the pace of adoption of online services, as social distancing measures have entailed remote arrangements and virtual memorial services. It also gets impetus from the tech-savvy consumers who like the efficiency and flexibility offered by digital platforms. Online services are available 24/7, thus allowing families to plan at their convenience and in the comfort of their homes.

Considered in this report
• Historic year: 2018
• Base year: 2023
• Estimated year: 2024
• Forecast year: 2029

Aspects covered in this report
• Funereal Service market Outlook with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Provider
• The Funeral Director
• Embalming Services
• Mortician Services
• Funeral Homes With Crematories
• Visitation Or Viewing Services
• Graveside Committal
• Selling Funeral Supplies
• Transporting The Deceased

By Service
• Cremation
• Funeral Planning Services
• Transportation
• Body Preparation And Interment
• Others

By Application
• Immediate need
• Pre-Planned

By Distribution Channel
• Online
• Offline

The approach of the report:

This report consists of a combined approach of primary and secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and list the companies that are present in it. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, annual reports of companies, and government-generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources, primary research was conducted by conducting telephone interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducting trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this; we have started making primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting them in regional aspects, tier aspects, age group, and gender. Once we have primary data with us, we can start verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience

This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations, and organizations related to the Funereal Service industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing and presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.